;* ' * . t . *; l i } * o ; * * - v i . , , j . } 

' .j • ; y t' * $ \ * * . • « • * -• ? > ■ * .; 

' •• V J » ' \ 4’*S » ‘ 7 ' i i -j V 4 

« < • ; • ■ IT! 

; ’ V ■ ■• ■, "■ , i * *s, . i , •. 

> ' . .« »• •* i ’ 3 * -6 # ; $ I \ i 

; V ! > ‘ : > • j < A I > ■ ; ■ - . 


* « i •t :'< * , 


i \Tm . 


su i 

f * > < 


♦V; 

V 

? «? i 


i * > f » < , t l 5 . 1 ; i / : | % i v * i. ♦ , > . < 

; s . } • . K { . i i \ j J- t • i ; : I > ) 1 W / • » 

** - » « < . f t • ■. * . 2 1 i r *;' \ ) \ f \ 

. . ■ t ■ 

‘I.< i / f• /}rthni.Ti;•' 

- « ? • , •; *• i f , t : \ \ ■ j f > ,{ *, t! ?: : 


•i ? :;r * •„ 

;. 7 : : » 

i t ; 7 » f i ■ ;• *: •■ *.'«• I- \r $ i' 

S ' h f • - * v t i ^ f f j r , « 


» /« if •» i » *f - J ' i j | | \ ; J i 

; 4 ^ f i V .• 4 .* < ^ : f > U ; \U ) \ 

l ‘ . < ’ • 

> < » ‘ • r * * , > • ■ « • • •' J 7? { ! 4. J i ) » 


V > . V : 


»• r « v 


.» » « ^4 j 


» ^ i ' V * ’ ♦ ' I 

V n 

1 ' ;• f 


• . •’ - 1 ’ t 0 > ■• ■ B - 3 £ / ir • 

,'.<■* • 4 . I ’ » i ■ f * * I 

: \« 7 i • r i; i. n ’ w: \\ »i.r 4 J i 

. ! 'if,f ' i , I 5 ! I 

j •' •• ,••?.'} Vs,'; •/; (;n < f 

f ■ vV’ i i 

= « * t • • • i f • » r v \ . * ’ 


i .' • . . i \, * ‘ ‘ i •. ’ j i * 
♦ - v i . t i i i * : I ; * \ i v 

> . u f -I v • > . v 


’ . 1, * 

« t * .• 


i / * i k : I • ' ;• • v » ^ v 4 i i x - • 

A 7 **•>»,**•>.»>* i ♦, * , 

r i* s v 1 j 7 : . : * i r ^ i . * 1 ^ 

; 1 / V ■» ? ! i * : ! f 4 


> . i . i [ i € ^ V f n 5 - 

; I i . ? v $ i *. > i - i x * * i 9 <f 

% . • tf ; \ 4 • ) . ‘ . V* ; ! 


‘ J v f * 

» 4 * A , (I ( J •• I . A I » 1 * f / 2 V z 

' * S rt v • 1 « /. 1 • t \ \ \ ) \. y\ l X 

f / < - •’■ ■ -J 1 9 I ; ; I J V - < l > > '• h 

• -J ;'i • 5 •/ . f - » 

•: * - i «• i » i ';!/•,-» a t > « » 

I 

1 ♦ ’ \ -j I r ' r . • l A ! t t \ . M 


‘ » • \ • * - r t • » # t l M •. 

;•■ n }') r-ri '^A . •• * 

f. \ * J • ? . i s f \ , • \ l f V ; 

; • . a i, r. ; . , Ti- : .-7 < iv* .[ 4 ' '■- I H 

' (• v ! a - • i 7 s - • -i s ■; 

■ - * l : 0 ’ I 1 i r n 51 : ■ ' t » j : > » 

■ 1 ' • i ' l j ’i a > ; 1 .• » ' < W . i. • ^ 

. \ ■ . i fc f - \ 4 > « * ;• 4 •' - 1 ) « / * 

• '. 1 : ? • / y. \ v < i ^ 


. M 1 v ; j t 1 » s ^ . 1 \ ! * f 

V » » * ' . , ‘ % » t n ? «• < 1 } 

■ s-, 

' 

i i < ’ -;; ’ > a 1 |i 1 » < ;» ,' i ’ « 

■ i•; i i r Vi a j*;», f ; \\\ \ 1 , k v 
a. j 1 v 717 ■ 5 f } • f J , i r ’ {’ r 
■ » m'm ■ a 7... •••.wuh :r.-i; ; ' <: 


1 . • l i . . I r • * ? 1 ' I » 

• 1 \ b ? 1 x ;* . * * 1 */ f . i M V V 1 * 

• •' • •* » i ^ • v x • •», * - * • « .. $ J 

1 

1 » 1 ’ ‘ \ * 1 J « 1 > > • ;• • 

* V ' IV**; * • * \ ^ * \ ;I », ( ; » i ? A t . r - I 

» • • ' .* » * 1 I • 4 t v * 

9 • V • I k * \ • ■ • i t » T « I , | 

7 ♦ » • V ' I • • » i . \ ' A 1 ! 


7 * » * ^ j ' ’ » * % * i , H t ■ • * ' Jf 1 ! 

' v *; 4 4 J 1 N i • 4 i t • v 
? * i ) < : r f ; }\ ; iJ VM a h ? 1 * i 

C / ' • t • ' ' 1 4 ; : > *. .'i ‘ \ .• 5 i 

V V I » . v K 1 > I * < V ft » < . .t ^ 

* , 1 1 I <■ ’ A • I V > ♦ l V \ ? i V • I > <» ' » 

» I «• f f t . i»\ u • \ 1 ; 4 : i 

f ‘ < . 4 • V I k , • , J A f r ; ; | }» 

; : i • . i . * . 4 1 • ■ . ' i C • ' 


i • . ■ 4 f 1 . 4 f . ? c ; 

< * • « ' • t * f 4 1 > 4 f . * 4 < * 

•. j « • B 1 44 v; ‘ < 4 .4 ; <4 * 


1 * 4 •’ J • *1 i A < ‘ < 4 5 ; » ! . 

4 : f * C. ; f - v . * . v * l J a l J! 

* ) 9 i I J 4 I 7 / 1 i I J « • *. ! 1 i * 4 > T 1 

C t < 1 \ ■' ' 1 ' S I \ 1 1 4 1 1 I 4 i * 

4 v ; .? , 7 f * i - » % ^ . » • •> 9 l . * > » : t •. 


- r ; ; v -• 4 v v * . 4 i i I • ' 

•i •« t i ) a • * . I • | t j ' \ A .\ » * v t i -• 

}•;-.* f * ' - • • 1 • • ; 4 * f v 4 V ' * '9 ••VI 

‘ I ^ ' \ l 4 4 V ‘ 4 V 9 4 I 

• l I | 4 f !•;*:> f *' i : •. 

i . ; i. ¥ ' > 1 t • I I V J t • 1 


^ . 'i A 1.411 ^ 

)\r .' 4 j m*. \ • 41 \ 

• / ^ 

4 * •- - • • r i * , t [i t - 1 l i i • i , 


f * 4 4, 4 i 

1 >' 4 


• » ' ; v i ' ^ \ ' : 

. ‘ ' m .« v .! » ? i 1*4 i t J < 

, > ; - >» ;* * * t -» 

. > ;* :i\-\ \: \ ? s 

s' i i < ■• . '• 4 < : * v I 

I J . ? • » - s • 4 4 s .<««>- f 
- • •• * 1 ■.» , > 

’ # i v . i i § j y\ 

U 1 > %* .* > - • i < , i n a 4 M I 

* ; * . * • ’ • » t * - » r < * j i • 


i ’ . 

\ 4 ' , 4 I 


4 4 | b €• > t 

• - 1 * .1 • l » * V t \» 1 


? f . i " 


4 4 

‘ t 7 2i 

i V 

^ > ? 

» 

* l 

< 


; 9 


i > - v k -9 C 4 * I 1 « ‘ •f.Aav Jf 

> > ’ 1 ' U 1 9 - ‘ • i \ ; t 

r « ! < . • i J * '. I J V » » 

k » * \ i ‘ . • 1 • i % f, v 

' J 4 4 * iaM.ft-*!: 


S'* » I 1 1 ; . * - I H il M 7«. 1 

% ?. ' ‘ : ? ? ¥ • t ♦ : 4 * ' •;* 

• » • * » •%•.»• t t ^ 1 ' * i ' * * . « a ‘ ■;* 

4 : v t * ^ \ • • i i 4 • »’ 

» \ • t t • • T ( I : 1 J 1 4 . , * '• ' • i 

.t *:••.. • 1 . « 1 ' ' 1 ‘ A ' •» 

i * | - « > i . : - < ! > i « a » i T 

I t . ■ • * I * ' * 4 ' ill, 

' 4 • * - r . *• | f ‘ M ' i . ! W . 


X * ‘ l 1 ) - ¥ * * ’ a *- V ) ** f .1 ' ,1 - 

I X . * i i 4 « . < » n 4 A . 

» i ^ j. * : 4 ¥ l * \ .. 1 

* \ ' * 4 • ' V * t 4 . » M 


\ s v : 

* * % 
•4 • i 


, \ • • 

« ^ i 

• V 


> 1 • • 4 

4 » i K \ .1 •) * 1 

• W jf 4 * 

a : j \ 3 r t 

• 7 it • » , -v 

’ ** t • 

* • *. . i - * .i 

i i . i s 

i ‘ » 1 v » \ i . 


1 , 4 • ,* * 
* if \ 1 

i i % 

i » a 


v . i 

• % i » 


V I i » > 

. n . ' * t 

> » 1 . i 


* ? .1 
• i ' » * 


•, s 1 

• x •> 

J I 


' J ‘ A 5 ! , J 

V ^ • 4 1 \ 4 

' * . ' • 

i I ** ' i ii 


} * 

< I, i 


-5 3 4 ' 1 

4 l •* ‘ ¥ t 

fV * .1 • t 









V 5 ^ 






O 


o * C ^ 
(r * K ^ < J 


* 

-< 

A 

o 


o o v 


r &■% tf 

A ° 


■ -r'' 



$ A, ”* 

V ^ v ^ * 811 <v 

v Vr*';, % >° ><-■*> -•*. - , 

O <£> ^ « 

$V<V ° ^JSW * V v> %, ■; 

4> ■ ^ ^,7sfV\ $ * % 

*. % A vD, y o «x * ,o x <. X/ /* * s * < 

^ ^ ,0NC. V a\ 




l A *-^4» 



*«!'*■ ^ 

-is 0 - S 



'Kp \ & 


* 

N -< 


«>* V 

O0 x 


Hi 

O 




%' 1 ir /:.«., V' 7 *' 1 >'\. v •■.,;% 

? ° ' o° .* * j* s — * ° 

- ^ v* ; 

?: ^ ^ vSilB^ ^ Oo - l 

* v #'* ^ ** , ^ f°° ,**,%/ » a h o V v V 

v* <p cj» ^ a xS <gjdft|(y ^ t*- 

«r iA^$f/V) ° ^ ■*■ lyT^^ <■ <?’,» vV *• 

lW/>S4 * ' Z v 

O <\V <S*r, o 

■*, / V <£>■ o K/ , ; ^>' * vp A?‘ & %/> 

< J> *•/ * * s s ^ t ft '“5*, y 0 « >• ^ *v *■* * * S s . 

t«. A ^’IL'-, °o cVs*" *, - 5 * 4 

<P A A O 








a y 


X 00 ^. 




^ v'l-'*.. C ‘ 

Ar 




- n ■> ^ *" V ^ 6 S \0 

0 S 0 \V V- « J I ' 

V A* 0 ^ ^ A° ^ 

'* .m'» %/ ^ 

*. "j &%.\\ 9 . m 































cf < *" * % 






x 0 o. 
\ ^ 


* * 


» 

c- ^ * of’ r > , ’**&filf'** * 0 

°-t. *» h•’ s# e-. »,,>»\*° s .., ^ 

1 *<? ,v r „/A<?/i> •*, A* *<£26^* . * 

:^/A 9 a ^ir 

\W>wA - ^NNyS jy* xl/ /,' 2t 

^ _ ■■ 

r . •'o.x* <r^ * % A % ' 0 » y 6 46 

<?-> J jmI'' °* o 0> * 

v ■> ^vn\ ^ \ •*- ig’rih/y*?-, * < 

*b 0 ^ ! * 



-,\ r 


v 

o Cr 


; ^ ■%. ”* 
I#’ V -» 




& ^ 




9 1 ^ 



<£*. A * 
V 0 


. vv ^ > [v , 

°0 <\ ^ ■>* A ^ 
v o* s\V> % ’ N ° 0 *l ‘°'.' 

A ^ * *P, * ^ & 



,* *V 


< 


\V <p 

/ ^ ^ \ 

PV , ' * * ' ' \0 '„''*» '^O V “ ’ X ”* ON C . 

% JF S ’m^- 1 9j 0° •‘■—n *<- > 

^ t '"o o N : % 



•v 


A' 



>5 ^ " 


F s 


x 0 o 

X <<• •/ 

/ 

“• vV a,N °' <?\"’' 

K ^afr/Ox^ f <p Y 





X 0o ^> 





,v 


$ << 


A 


G 


■>> A * 

® ^ V* 0 

■•' ,^ v <Qp » 

I °o c° o % ,A ^ 

1 : 



J* 0 
,* N «0 J 

' ' ' ^ ' 
A' ^ 


$ <* 



A 


A ^ 



\ 0 ^- 



O' 


^ V 

o 0 


^ 8 1 -A * 


> 





. r 


Vi , » « . ^ - 5 N° \ 

X 9 V ^ V * 

^ ^ * <V> n ^ 

</ A «Y^ oa 


> XV- * 

I #■ % 

^ * 0 /> ✓ 


^ *> 

^ ' /y i s s % \^ 

Ho o 



s? H 




0 ^ X 



A “T\ ^ 



0v ’ y ^ 

A° N r <^ s^ A 

■V c 0 ' -P <?U .vV 


. 





-fj- ^ 


r\ 





























' ■ 











































4 ' 


* .• 

• . 
















* 

























■ 















, ! 

i • „ • 



: : ..... < • | 


















To face Title 





Ghaut in the Himalaya. See p. 5 





































































































































































































































THE 


HINDOOS: 

(i 

INCLUDING 

A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA, 

ITS GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, MANNERS, 

AND CUSTOMS : 

THE FINE ARTS, ARCHITECTURE, AND LITERATURE. 

WITH A GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE 


HISTORY OF HINDOOSTAN. 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, 

FROM 

DRAWINGS BY WILLIAM WESTALL, R.A. 


Vol. I. 


LONDON: 

M. A. NATTALI, 23 , BEDFORD STREET, 

COVENT GARDEN. 


MDCCCXLYII. 






London : Printed by W. Clowes and Sons, Stamford-street. 




CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I 

Page 

General Description of India.1 

CHAPTER II. 

Provinces of India ....... 28 

CHAPTER III. 

Origin and Antiquity of the Hindoos . . . .94 

CHAPTER IV. 

On the Institution of Castes . . . . .105 

CHAPTER V. 

Religion ........ 142 

CHAPTER VI. 

Temples—Holy Places—Pilgrimages—and Festivals . 181 
CHAPTER VII. 

Character—Manners—and Customs . . . .241 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Food—Stature—Dress—Ornaments—and Dwellings . 346 






























■ 




. 

' 








■ 


* 








LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS; 


FROM DRAWINGS BY W. WESTALL, Esq., A.R.A. 


No. Page 

1. Ghaut in the Himalaya, to face title. 

2. Bheem ka Udar, a view in the Himalaya Mountains 4 

3. The Bore—coming in of the Tide in the Ganges . 7 

4. Ferry-boat on the Ganges . . . . .13 

5. Jumna Musjeed, Delhi . . . . .73 

6. City of Agra 81 

7. Point de Galle, in the Island of Ceylon . . .92 

8. Individuals of the Four Great Castes . . .112 

9. The Trimurti—Busts of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, 

in the Temple at Elephanta . » . .169 

10. Entrance of the Temple at Elephanta . . . 192 

11. City of Benares . . • . . 212 

12. Hindoo School . . . . . .251 
















' 

i 

I 




THE HINDOOS 


Chapter I, 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 

The ancient and extensive empire of India 1 has from 
the remotest ages been an object of extraordinary 
cariosity to the inhabitants of all the more civilized 
portions of the world. In early antiquity, the Assy® 
rian queen Semiramis is said to have made a fruit¬ 
less attempt at subduing India; the conquests of 
Darius Hystaspis do not appear to have extended 
beyond the Panjab (Herodot. iv. 44; compare iii. 
101), and those of Alexander and of Seleucus made 

1 The origin of the name of India is altogether unknown ; 
but, as Egypt derived its name from the ancient appellation 
of the Nile (A'/yua-rob. Horn. Odyss. iv.. 477, xvii. 427, and 
Eust, ad loc.), so many etymologists have imagined that 
India originally derived its name from the Indus. In San¬ 
scrit, the name of that river is Sindhu, and its derivative 
Saindhava is the common adjective for whatever belongs to, or 
comes from the country along the Indus. The name became, 
probably, first known to the Greeks through the Persians, and a 
Sanscrit initial sibilant is often lost or changed into h in the 
corresponding words of the Persian and other cognate lan¬ 
guages. Though properly confined to the provinces adjacent 
to the Indus, the acceptation of the term India was extended 
to the country east of that river as the knowledge of it ad¬ 
vanced A large province at the mouth of the Indus is still 
called Sinde; and Vincent supposes the present town of Sinde 
to be the Sindomana of Arrian (vi. 16). See Vincent’s Voyage 
of Nearchus, p. 160. Lieutenant Burnes, however, is of opinion, 
that Sindomana is the present Sehwun. Journal of the Royal 
Geographical Society, vol. iii. p. 138. 

VOL. I.. 





2 


THE HINDOOS. 


but a temporary impression. Even the Afghans, and 
the hardy barbarians of Tartary, who, under Baber, 
and other Mohammedan conquerors, effected a more 
permanent settlement in Hindoostan, appear to have 
almost immediately undergone a remarkable change 
both in character and manners. In a few ages their 
robust bodies and hardly-tempered minds yielded, 
like those of their predecessors, to the force of the 
warm enervating sun of India. They then became 
unable to preserve the conquests which they had 
made; and the descendants of Baber, Humaioon, 
and Akbar sunk under the dominion of a handful 
of daring* strangers from the remotest islands of the 
West. These strangers, whose success affords the 
most extraordinary example on v record of the triumph 
of knowledge and civilization over brute force, are 
now intrusted with the destinies of India, which 
forms, in the strictest sense of the word, a province 
of the British empire. The Hindoo therefore, though 
divided from us by a vast extent of sea and land, 
is our fellow-citizen; and for this reason we are 
deeply interested in comprehending his character, 
his manners, his religion, and the nature of the 
country which he inhabits. 

The efforts of the ancients to open a commerce 
with India were more successful than their wars. For 
many ages before the expedition of Alexander, the 
costly and beautiful productions of this “ garden of 
Asia” found their way through various channels to 
the west: its perfumes scented the tresses, and its 
jewels sparkled upon the bosoms of the women of 
Greece. Let us cast a hasty glance over its general 
physical aspect; and for this purpose imagine our¬ 
selves placed, with our face towards the north, on the 
extreme point of Cape Comorin, about eight degrees 
from the equinoctial line 2 . On the left hand the 
2 Malte-Brun, Geographie, tom. iv. p. 3, 4. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


3 


shores stretch away, through 16° of lat. to the mouths 
of the Indus, and on the right in a north-easterly 
direction, to where the Brahmaputra mingles its 
waters with those of the Ganges. From this point 
the Brahmaputra itself forms the boundary, until we 
approach the Himalaya mountains, which, extending 
in a slightly fluctuating line towards the north-west, 
divide Bengal, Oude, Delhi, Lahore, and Cashmere 
from Tibet. On the west the Indus is the natural 
boundary of India, from the point where it issues 
through a break in the Himalaya chain, to lat. 24° 
north, where it falls into the ocean 3 . The superficial 
extent of India has never been ascertained with any 
degree of exactness: but Hamilton, whose authority 
is of great weight, calculates it to be about one mil¬ 
lion two hundred and eighty thousand square miles 4 . 
This vast region contains the loftiest mountains, se¬ 
veral of the largest and most celebrated rivers, and, 
side by side, the most fertile and the most barren 
spots on the surface of the globe. Of the moun¬ 
tains the principal are the Himalaya 5 , the eastern 
and western Ghauts, and the Vindhya chains, which 
run through the centre of the peninsula, parallel to 
the course of the Nerbudda 6 The greater portion 
of the Himalaya range has never been explored ; the 
everlasting snow and clouds which rest upon its 

3 Ehn Haukal, Oriental Geography, p. 131—143; Pennant’s 
Outlines of the Globe, vol. i. p. 3. 

4 Description of Hindostan, Introduction, p. 17. 

5 The name of these mountains, which in Sanscrit signifies 
“ the abode of snow, winter, or coldness,” is sometimes written 
Himmaleh, conformably to the pronunciation in some of the 
present Indian dialects. To the Greeks and Romans the Hi¬ 
malaya, or at least part of it, was known under the name 
of Imaus. Pliny was aware of the signification of the name : 
“ Imaus incolarum lingua nivosum significans.” Hist. Nat. 
vi. 17. 

8 Malte-Brun, tom. iv. p. 10. 


4 


THE HINDOOS. 


summit render it extremely difficult of access. But 
it has been ascertained that one of the peaks of this 
chain, denominated Dhawalagiri, near the source of 
the Gunduk river, is the most elevated spot upon 
the habitable globe ; being twenty-six thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-two feet above the level of the 
sea. It is in the untrodden solitudes of these moun¬ 
tains, where the scream of the eagle, the roar of 
torrents and tempests, and the thunder of the ava¬ 
lanche are the only sounds ever heard, that the 
superstitious Hindoo has placed his heaven on the 
summit of Mount Meru 7 . Here too, when weary 
of life, he comes to the rock, in shape resembling a 
bullock’s rump, and supposed to be the petrified 
body of a god, to precipitate-himself over the holy 
crag, and enter heaven by force. 

The Ghauts (passages or gates, as they are expres¬ 
sively termed) commence in the plains about Coim¬ 
batore, in the southern portion of the Dekkan, and, 
diverging east and west, form, like the shores, the 
two sides of a triangle, the apex of which points to¬ 
wards Cape Comorin. The eastern Ghauts extend in 
a north-easterly direction seventy miles beyond Ma¬ 
dras, and are only intersected by narrow defiles well 
fined with fortresses. The northern portion of this 
chain divides the Circars from the province of Berar, 
and is exceedingly rugged, precipitous, and difficult 
of access. Formed of naked granite, the summit of 
this ridge presents to the adventurous traveller the 
most dreary and desolate picture that can be ima¬ 
gined. In the rainy season, torrents of fearful volume 
and rapidity, dashing down through the dark and 
barren abysses of the mountains, sweep away every 
thing before them; but in that portion of the year, 
which in these countries may be termed summer, the 

7 See below, the section of this work on the religion, &c. q £ 
India. 



Page 4. Bheem ka Udar: a View in the Himalaya Mountains. 











































































































































































































































































































































































































t I J ^ ' **■ • 








t- 








* 






> 


: 






\ 

• • 








- 

v 

• r 









\ 










y 




i 

1 

' ‘ ' ' - 











i - - l 




, ► ' *1 

v N V 




GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


5 


sun glares in unmitigated brightness upon the rocks, 
washed as clean as the steps of a temple by the mon¬ 
soon rains, and renders them painful to be looked 
upon. It was this dazzling appearance which led 
the natives to bestow upon the range the name of 
Ellacooda, or the White Mountains 8 . 

The western Ghauts, of greater elevation and 
more picturesque appearance than the eastern, ex¬ 
tend northward along the Malabar coast, at a short 
distance from the sea, and traversing Canara and 
Bejapore, and passing near Goa, enter the Mahratta 
country, where they branch off into numerous small 
ridges. Differing almost entirely from the eastern 
chain, these mountains are intersected by numerous 
deep ravines, through which many streams of water 
descend to the plains, while thick forests of the mag¬ 
nificent trees of the tropics clothe the summits and 
acclivities with a deep covering of verdure. At the 
feet of this amphitheatrical sweep of mountains the 
numerous towns and villages of Malabar glitter in 
the sun, and overlook the broad blue expanse of the 
Indian Ocean. Between these two chains of the 
Ghauts lies the plateau or table-land of the Dekkan, 

B Malte-Brun, tom. iv. p. 9. “ We are not informed,” says 
Hamilton, “ of the exact height of this ridge, hut its general 
elevation is known to he considerably less than that of the 
western Ghauts. About the latitude of Madras, which is the 
highest part, it is estimated at three thousand feet; and the 
tahle-land of Bangalore, towards Ooscottah, which is within the 
chain, is more than three thousand feet above the level of the sea. 
As the rivers which have their sources in the upper table-land 
universally decline to the east, it proves the superior elevation 
of the western Ghauts, and they are by far the most abrupt in 
their ascent. The chief component part of these mountains 
is a granite, consisting of white feldspar and quartz, with dark 
green mica in a small proportion to the other two ingredients; 
the particles are angular, and of a moderate size. The rocks 
appear stratified, but the strata are very much broken and 
confused.” Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 249. 

B 3 


6 


THE HINDOOS. 


which breaks rapidly off in the western, and slopes 
down gradually in the eastern Ghauts, and extends 
in the north beyond the Nerbudda, where the Vindhya 
mountains mark its farthest projection towards the 
plains of Hindoostan. 

The rivers of India have always been more cele¬ 
brated than its mountains. Every person throughout 
the civilized world is familiar with the names of the 
Indus and the Ganges, those holy streams 9 , which 
seem to the superstitious Hindoo, as the Nile appeared 
to the Egyptian, to be of divine origin. They are 
certainly among the most precious gifts which nature 
has bestowed upon Hindoostan. By their means, 
and that of numerous tributary or inferior rivers, an 
amazing degree of fertility is maintained in the coun¬ 
try, which from time immemorial has not only sup¬ 
ported a vast population with its own produce, but 
been enabled to satisfy the wants of the rest of the 
world with its superfluities 1# . To us in England it is 
difficult to form an idea of those “ocean streams,” which 
in a course, in some instances, of nearly two thousand 
miles collect the waters of a thousand rivers, and at 
length flow in channels of several leagues in breadth 
to the sea 11 . In the level lands of Bengal rivers 
cannot of course possess very lofty banks; but palaces, 
temples, and palm trees of gigantic size shoot up 
from the water’s edge, and are visible from a great 
distance; yet, in sailing up or down these majestic 
streams, the eye is frequently unable to descry the 
opposite banks. Except in the rainy season the sur- 

9 Gang5, or the goddess of the Ganges, is supposed to have 
sprung from the head of Siva. See RamSyana, b. i. c. 26. 
Among the Egyptians the Nile was a principal divinity, and 
was denominated the mimic of heaven. Creuzer, Religions de 
l’Ant.tom. i. p. 385 ; Egypt and Mohammed Ali, vol. i. p. 228. 

10 See Vincent’s Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, p. 353—469, 
and Robertson’s Dissertation, p. 54—57. 

11 Malte-Brun, vol.iii. p. 12, 13. 


* • 



























fir 






x *> * * * 














/ 






■ 

















* * 












* 




r 


f* 

























■ 














■ ' : $ r. m i 

V. •• 


■- 


1 V 


. 

; -U - ~ 






- ! . ■ 












. * 



























The Bore . coming in of the Tide on the Ganges. 


































































































































































































































GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


7 


face of the rivers, rarely ruffled with winds, is as 
smooth as a mirror, and beautifully reflects the glo¬ 
rious hues which dawn or sunset spreads over the 
tropical skies, with the lazy lingering sail floating 
over it. Towards the mouth, however, this tran¬ 
quillity is twice a day disturbed by the tide, which, 
particularly in the Indus, rushes with great violence 
against the stream with what is commonly called the 
mascaret or bore , endangering the barks which en¬ 
counter it. It was this phenomenon that astonished 
the soldiers of Alexander 12 , who, accustomed to the 
tideless wave of the Mediterranean, knew not how to 
account for this war of waters, which even modern 
travellers have described with wonder. 

The most celebrated river of Hindoostan is the 
Indus 13 (in Sanscrit, Sindhu), which was known 
from the very earliest ages to the ancient world. Its 
sources, like those of the western Nile, have hitherto 
eluded the scrutiny of man, but they certainly lie 
beyond the Himalaya range, and are supposed to be 
situated in the northern declivity of the Cailas branch 
of these mountains, about lat. 31° 20' N. and long. 
80° 30' E., near the town of Gortope, in a country 

12 Arrian, Exped. Alex, vi. 19. 

13 Though the breadth of the Indus does not, perhaps, quite 
correspond with the great length of its course, it is still very 
considerable. “ After the Fulalee rejoins the Indus, the 
course is for some miles south, at last deviating to the south¬ 
west, in which direction it may be said to enter the ocean in 
one large volume. As it approaches the estuary, several minor 
streams branch off from the main trunk, but they never reach 
the sea, being absorbed by the sands of the desert, lost in an 
enormous salt morass, or abstracted by the natives for agricul¬ 
tural uses. From the sea up to Hyderabad the Indus is, in 
general, about a mile in breadth, varying in depth from two to 
five fathoms; at Lahore Bunder it is four miles broad; still 
further down, at Dharajay Bunder, nine miles; and, at the 
extreme of the land, twelve miles from shore to shore.” Ha¬ 
milton, vol. i. p. 481. 


8 


THE HINDOOS. 


now subject to China. Not far from the same spot are 
the lake of Ravan-hrad, and the sources of the Setlej 
(in Sanscrit, Satadru); farther to the east are those 
of the Brahmaputra; and, nearly opposite, on the 
southern side of the Himalaya, the sacred Ganges it¬ 
self issues from the roots of the mountains. For 
many hundred miles from its source the course of the 
Indus js unknown, but it is supposed to flow towards 
the N.N.W., through a desolate unexplored country. 
From Dras, a town of Little Tibet, down to the ocean, 
its course has been ascertained and described, though 
not with that accuracy and minuteness which the sub¬ 
ject seems to demand. For more than two hundred 
miles from the above-mentioned town, the Indus re¬ 
ceives no accession from any other stream. At Mullai, 
however, the Abaseen precipitates itself into it imme¬ 
diately after its escape from the dreary solitudes of the 
greater Hindoo Koosh, among the frightful chasms 
and precipices of the inferior range of which it still 
continues to flow for fifty miles, and then emerges at 
Torbaila, into the valley of Chuch, over whose broad 
bosom it diffuses its waters in the midst of innume¬ 
rable little green islands. Having been joined by 
the Caubul river, about forty miles farther down, it 
enters the Soliman mountains, and forces its way with 
vast noise and violence through a rocky precipitous 
channel. In this part of its course the sound of its 
waters has been compared to the roaring of a tem¬ 
pestuous sea; and when the melting of the snows of 
the Hindoo Koosh increases the volume of the stream, 
a tremendous whirlpool is produced, in which the 
frail barks of the natives are frequently sunk or dashed 
to pieces. At Attock, on the road to Caubul, the 
Indus is only two hundred and sixty yards wide; 
but it is very deep and rapid, and in great floods 
reaches the top of a bastion, thirty-five or forty feet 
above the ordinary level. Between Attock and the 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


9 


ocean it is augmented by the waters of the Toe, the 
Koorum, the Aral, and the Panjnad 14 , or united stream 
of the five rivers of the Panjab. These rivers are 
the Jhylum or Behut (the Hydaspes of the an¬ 
cients), the Chenab (or Acesines), the Ravee (or 
Hydraotes), the Beyah (or Hyphasis), and the 
Setlej (or Hesudrus); though greatly celebrated 
both in ancient and modern history, they are not 
sufficiently important to require a separate description. 
The country through which they flow is called from 

14 Lieutenant Burnes observes that this name has been erro¬ 
neously given to the Chenab or Acesines after it has gathered 
the other rivers. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 
vol. iii. p. 289. The same traveller gives the following account 
of the means which the Raja of Lahore has used of late years 
to transport his army to the right bank of the Indus at Attock, 
and which Lieutenant Burnes heard from his officers. “ Runjeet 
Singh retains a fleet of thirty-seven boats at Attock for the 
construction of a bridge across the river, which is only two 
hundred and sixty yards wide. The boats are anchored in the 
stream a short distance from one another; and the communi¬ 
cation is completed by planks and covered with mud. Imme¬ 
diately below the fortress of Attock, twenty-four boats only are 
required; but at other places in.the neighbourhood as many as 
thirty-seven are used. Such a bridge can only be thrown 
across the Indus from November to April, on account of the 
velocity of the stream being comparatively diminished at that 
season; and even then the manner of fixing the boats seems 
incredible. Skeleton frame-works of wood, filled with stone to 
the weight of two hundred and fifty maunds, and bound to¬ 
gether strongly by ropes, are let down from each boat, to the 
number of four or six, though the depth exceeds thirty fathoms, 
and these are constantly strengthened by others to prevent 
accident. Such a bridge has been completed in three days, 
but six is the more usual period; and we are much struck with 
the singular coincidence between this manner of constructing a 
bridge, and that described by Arrian (v. 7'), when Alexander 
crossed the Indus. He there mentions his belief regarding 
Alexander’s bridge at Attock, and except that the skeleton 
frame-works are described as huge wicker-baskets, the modern 
and ancient manner of crossing the river is the same.” Ibid, 
p. 140, 141. 


10 


THE HINDOOS. 


their number, the Panjab, that is, “ the region of the 
five rivers.” “ The tides,” observes Lieut. Burnes, 
“ rise in the mouths of the Indus about nine feet at 
full moon, and flow and ebb with great violence, 
particularly near the sea, when they flood and 
abandon the banks with equal and incredible velo¬ 
citybut he adds that they are only perceptible 
seventy-five miles from the sea. Those mouths of 
the Indus which are least favoured by the fresh water, 
are, according to the remark of the same traveller, 
most accessible to large vessels from the sea, for 
they are more free from sand-banks, which the river- 
waters, when rushing with violence, never fail to 
raise. 

Of all the rivers of India the Ganges 15 is the most 
sacred. It is, in the estimation of the natives, a 
deity; and the most secure way to heaven is through 

16 Mr. Colebrooke has given, in the Asiatic Researches, vol. 
xi. p. 429—445, an interesting history of the attempts which 
have at various times been made to explore the sources of the 
Ganges. Of these geographical expeditions the first was un¬ 
dertaken, in 1711, by two Lamas, who were commissioned by 
the Emperor of China to travel into Tibet for the purpose of 
constructing a map of the country from Si-miy to Lasa, and 
thence to the source of the Ganges, some of the water of which 
they were instructed to bring back with them to Peking. From 
the materials which they collected the map of Tibet, published 
by Duhalde, was prepared. Wars and revolutions, however, pre¬ 
vented them from completing their task, and the best informa¬ 
tion they were able to acquire was exceedingly imperfect. The 
Catholic missionaries at the court of Pekin being desirous of 
submitting this map to some European geographer, D’Anville 
undertook to examine and correct it. But he was not in pos¬ 
session of sufficient materials for the purpose ; and accordingly 
his labours, like those of the Lamas, were full of errors. These 
were animadverted on, but not corrected, by Major Rennell and 
Anquetil Duperron. Other attempts to determine the point, 
whether the Ganges actually rises on the northern or southern 
side of the Himalaya, were equally unsuccessful, until in 1818 
an expedition, projected by Colonel Colebrooke and conducted 
by Captains Raper and Hearsay, settled the long agitated 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


11 


its waters. Hence, whenever this is possible, the 
Hindoo comes to its banks to die, and piously carries 
thither his parents or relations, to ensure their eternal 
happiness. With the converse of the feelings of the 

question. The party arrived on the 1st of April at Haridwara, 
but did not themselves proceed to Gangotri, owing to the near 
approach of the rainy season. An intelligent native was sent 
forward, who arriving at Gangotri, the place where the river 
issues from the Himalaya, found the breadth of the stream to 
be about forty cubits, and not exceeding two in depth, with 
scarcely any current. From this point he continued to ascend 
the stream, occasionally perceiving the course of the river 
in the snow; but at the distance of three miles its channel 
was so encumbered with snow that it could neither be seen nor 
heard, while the superincumbent snow being soiled appeared 
like a cultivated field. Proceeding five hundred yards further, 
he again saw the sacred stream appear; but here his progress 
was stopped, for in front arose a steep mountain like a huge 
wall, from an angle of which the Ganges appeared to issue; 
but this was only conjecture, as the goddess here veils her 
head in an impenetrable mass of snow. This spot was found 
by observation to be twelve thousand nine hundred and fourteen 
feet above the level of the sea. This is the most sacred source, 
and it is here that the offerings of the pilgrims are made ; but 
the Dauli and Alacananda rivers, which, with this, the Bha- 
girat’hi, form the Ganges, have a longer course and rise still 
higher in the snows of the Himalaya. The source of the 
Alacananda, explored by the English officers themselves, was 
very similar to that of the Bhagirat’hl. Vast beds of snow, 
seventy or eighty feet in thickness, obstructed the ascent, and 
sometimes concealed the river. “We are now,” say the tra¬ 
vellers, “ completely surrounded by hoary tops, on which snow 
eternally rests, and blights the roots of vegetation. The lower 
parts of the hills produce verdure and small trees. About mid¬ 
way the fir rears its lofty head; but the summits, repelling 
each nutritious impulse, are veiled in garments of perpetual 
whiteness.” “ At twelve o’clock we reached the extremity of 
our journey, opposite to a waterfall called Barsu Dhara. It 
falls from the summit upon a projecting ledge, about two hun¬ 
dred feet high, where it divides into two streams, which descend, 
in drifting showers of spray, upon a bed of snow, where the 
particles immediately become congealed. The small quantity 
that dissolves undermines the bed, whence it issues in a small 


12 


THE HINDOOS. 


Gheber, who would consider the eternal fire—the 
object of his worship—polluted by the touch of a 
corpse, the Hindoo casts the dead naked into the 
sacred stream; so that those who sail upon the Ganges 
frequently meet with corpses, floating down in various 
stages of corruption and decay towards the sea. This 
stream rises, as we have before observed, in the Hima¬ 
laya mountains, on the Indian side of the range. It 
very soon becomes of considerable depth, and na¬ 
vigable for the light barks of the country, but before 
its confluence with the Jumna (or Yamuna) 16 it is 
fordable in many places. The depth of the Ganges 
is not greatly influenced by the melting of the snows; 
yet its bed is very uncertain, changing after every rainy 
season, and shallows are frequent in it. Like most 
tropical rivers it overflows the surrounding plains, 
in some places for more than a hundred miles 
in extent; at which time nothing is visible but the 
lofty palm trees, the villages, which are built on 

stream about two hundred paces below. This place forms the 
boundary of the pilgrims’ devotions ; some few come hither for 
the purpose of being sprinkled by this holy shower-bath. 

“ From this spot the direction of the Alacananda is perceptible 
to the S. W. extremity of the valley, distant about one mile; but 
its current is entirely concealed under immense heaps of snow, 
which have most probably been accumulating for ages in its 
channel. Beyond this point travellers have not dared to ven¬ 
ture ; and although the Sastras mention a place called Alaca- 
pura, whence the river derives its source and name, the position 
or existence of it is as much obscured in doubt and fable as any 
other part of their mythological history.” Asiatic Researches, 
vol. xi. p. 524. 

16 The sources of the Jumna, in the immediate neighbour¬ 
hood of the hot springs of Jumnotri (long. 78° 24' E. lat. 
30° 55'), were visited in 1816 by Mr. James Baillie Fraser, 
who has described them in his Journal of a Tour in the Hima¬ 
laya mountains, p. 428, &c.; and again, in 1828, by Ca,ptain 
Johnson, who, on the 12th of May, found them issuing from a 
snow-bed, at an elevation of 10,840 feet above the level of the 
sea. See Journal of the Royal Geog. Soc. vol. iii. p. 49-.-70. 





♦ 


% 



Page 12. Ferry-Boat on the Ganges. 





























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA, 


13 


elevated sites, and a few mounds, the sites of ruined 
hamlets. Travelling is at this period performed in 
boats, in which the Hindoo skims over his rice fields 
and gardens, which are then imbibing the moisture 
necessary to their fertility. The prospect is singular 
but monotonous, as every field is similar to the next, 
and the appearance of the country upon the subsiding 
of the waters is any thing but picturesque. At the 
distance of five hundred miles from the sea the 
Ganges is thirty feet deep at low water, and never 
becomes shallow, till at its mouth bars and banks of 
sand, thrown up by the contending waters of the rivers 
and the sea, choke its channel, and render it unna- 
vigable to large vessels. At the distance of two hun¬ 
dred miles from the ocean the river separates into two 
branches; the eastern, which flows towards the south¬ 
east, retaining the original appellation, and the western 
branch, which, being joined by another stream that 
separates from the main river, assumes the name of 
the Hooghly. Upon the latter, which is navigable 
by the largest ships, Calcutta, the British capital of 
India, is situated. The southern border of the Delta, 
lying between these two branches of the Ganges, and 
intersected by innumerable smaller channels, is called 
the Sunderbunds, which, covered with rank im¬ 
penetrable thickets or jungles, the haunt of tigers and 
other wild animals, extend for about two hundred 
miles along the shore. Though the melting of the 
snow contributes but little to the rise of the Ganges, 
it is considerably increased by the rains which fall in 
the mountainous districts during the month of June, 
by the end of which it has frequently risen twenty-five 
feet. At this time the rainy season has scarcely 
begun in the plains of Bengal, but in the course of 
July the monsoon rains deluge the country, and the 
river rises thirty-two feet above its ordinary level. 
The waters then begin to fall, and from this time to 
VOX. I. C 


14 


THE HINDOOS. 


April continue gradually decreasing, until the river 
sinks Vo what may be termed its lowest level. 

The Brahmaputra, which has its source at no 
great distance towards the east of the lake Manasa- 
Sarovara in Tibet, near the sources of the Setlej and 
the Indus, is, perhaps, the largest river of India. 
At first it flows eastward, and almost parallel to 
the ridge of the Himalaya, through Tibet, where it 
is called the Sanpo. It afterwards makes a bend, 
turns through Assam towards Bengal, and, joining 
the Ganges at Luckipoor, falls into the ocean, after 
a course of about one thousand seven hundred miles. 
Much uncertainty, however, still prevails about the 
course of this river. The identity of the Sanpo of 
Tibet with the Brahmaputra has recently been 
questioned by Klaproth, who was induced, by a 
passage in the great Imperial Geography of China, 
to suppose that the Sanpo, instead of turning towards 
the west, emptied its waters into the Irawaddy; but 
the information recently collected by Lieutenant 
Wilcox in Assam and the adjacent countries, is not 
in favour of this hypothesis 17 . 

The principal rivers of the peninsula of India are 
the Mahanadi, Godavery, Krishna, and Caverv, 
which flow from west to east, following the slope of 
the table-land of the Dekkan; and, farther north, the 
Taptee and Nerbudda, which run in an opposite 
direction from east to west, and pour their waters 
into the gulf of Cambay. A few other rivers of less 
importance will be noticed in the description of the 
provinces of India. 

In India there is, properly speaking, neither spring 
nor autumn, summer nor winter. There are but two 
seasons—the rainy and the dry. The former con¬ 
tinues in the interior and the western parts of the 
peninsula from April or May to the end of October; 

17 Asiatic Researches, vol. xvii. p. 314, &c. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


15 


and the remainder of the year is generally without a 
shower or a cloud. During this dry season the sun 
gradually burning up every plant and blade of grass 
on the plains, causes the whole surface of the country, 
excepting the forests and the jungles, to appear like a 
field from which the green sward has been pared 
away. Baked hard by the sun, the clayey soil cracks, 
and exhibits broad fissures, sometimes of several 
feet deep. Travelling then becomes extremely irk¬ 
some, as, besides the heat and the barrenness of the 
prospect, clouds of dust are frequently raised by the 
winds and drifted about with extraordinary velocity. 
But the rapidity with which these apparently barren 
plains are clothed with verdure on the setting in of 
the rains has the appearance of a miracle; a single 
night almost sufficing to call forth the slumbering 
plants and grasses, and to transform the dusty plain 
into a fertile meadow. 

This beautiful vegetation, however, is in the low¬ 
lands extremely short-lived; for, by the almost uni¬ 
versal inundation that ensues, the meadows are 
covered with water 18 . A thick canopy of clouds, 

18 The setting in of the south-west monsoon is thus admirably 
described by Mr. Elphinstone :—“ After some threatening days 
the sky assumes a troubled appearance in the evenings, and the 
monsoon sets in generally during the night. It is attended by 
such a thunder-storm as can scarcely be imagined by those who 
have only seen that phenomenon in a temperate climate. It 
generally begins with violent blasts of wind, which are succeeded 
by floods of rain. For some hours lightning is seen almost 
without intermission; sometimes it only illuminates the sky and 
shows the clouds near the horizon: at others it discovers the 
distant hills, and again leaves all in darkness, when in an 
instant it reappears in vivid and successive flashes, and exhibits 
the nearest objects in all the brightness’of day. During all this 
time the distant thunder never ceases to roll, and is only silenced 
by some nearer peal, which bursts on the ear with such a sudden 
and tremendous crash as can scarcely fail to strike the most 
insensible heart with awe.” Account of the Kingdom of Caubul. 


16 


THE HINDOOS. 


through which the rays of the sun can seldom force 
their way for a moment, hangs during weeks together 
over the country, dissolving in incessant torrents of 
rain, and renewed every moment by fresh masses of 
vapour from the ocean. The commencement and 
conclusion of the rainy season are marked by tremen¬ 
dous storms of thunder, especially the termination, 
when the winds are shifting about from the south to 
the northward, to roll away the heavy vapours from 
the land. During the continuance of the rains, when 
it might be expected that the air would possess a 
delicious freshness, a sultry and oppressive heat is 
frequently experienced, more overpowering than the 
far higher temperature of the dry season. But, not¬ 
withstanding these inconveniences, it is the rains 
alone that render India a habitable country ; their 
partial discontinuance produces famine, and their 
disappearance would, in the space of a few years, 
change the whole peninsula into a desert 19 . 

Though Indiq is situated chiefjy within the torrid 
zone it contains almost every variety of cJimate; 
some of its districts being insufferably hot. while 
others are uninhabitable from cold. In some parts, 
as in the Circars, the rains are said to continue eight 
months, while in others on the same coast they last 
only two. Bengal is subject to extreme vicissitudes, 
from incessant rains to intolerable heat, and from an 
atmosphere of dazzling clearness to heavy and un¬ 
wholesome fogs 20 . It is, consequently, an insalu¬ 
brious country. The coast of Coromandel is drier 

19 On the climate, &c. of India, see Tieffenthaler, tom. i.; 
Bernier’s Travels in the Mogul Empire; Pennant’s Outlines of 
the Globe; Malte-Brun’s Geography; and Hamilton’s excellent 
Description, passim. 

20 Gladwin’s Narrative of the Transactions in Bengal. Abul 
Fazl, however, describes the climate of Bengal as “ very tem¬ 
perate.” Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 5. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


1 7 


and hotter than that of Malabar, where, in districts in 
which narrow defiles and thick forests prevail, there 
are many unhealthy parts. In general, the high 
waste lands, the country between the Jumna and the 
Ganges and the Panjab, notwithstanding its multi¬ 
tude of streams and rivers, are blessed with a more 
cool and salubrious atmosphere 21 ; and the island of 
Bombay, once termed the “ grave of Europeans,” is 
now comparatively healthy 22 . The great wastes be¬ 
tween the Indus and Guzerat greatly resemble in 
aridity and barrenness the deserts of Arabia; but 
they produce none of those hardy tribes which render 
the Arabian wilderness the abode of independence 
and liberty.- In some of those wastes, as in that 
between Boodupoor and Almora, thorny briars and 
resinous shrubs are said to abound 23 , but in the 
greater number nothing but low sandy hills is to be 
seen ; while clouds of sand, raised by the hot winds 
of the south, darken the atmosphere, and often bury 
the houses and cultivated fields that skirt the confines 
of the desert. The wastes and the rocky chains of 
mountains that traverse the peninsula in various 
directions, are nearly the only uncultivated spots, the 
remainder being covered with rich meadows, pasture 
lands and rice fields, gardens or woods. 

The principal alimentary plants of India are rice 
(of which there are twenty-seven varieties), wheat, 
barley, maize, millet, dhourra, and badchera or bajera 
(Panicum spiculatum). Peas, beans, lentils, moong 
or mudga (Phaseolus Mungo), tauna, toor (Cytisus 
cajan), and toll (the last four unknown in Europe), 
are its ordinary legumes. Pine-apples and melons of 
the most delicious flavour are common in most of the 


21 Forster’s Journey from Bengal to Petersburgh. 

29 Grose’s Voyage to India. 

23 Tieffenthaler, vol. i. p. 102; Colonel Tod’s Annals of 
Rajast’han, vol.i. p. 693. 

c 3 


18 


THE HINDOOS. 


provinces; the lotus (Nelumbhim speciosum), and 
the water-lily (Nymphsea alba), abound in the vicinity 
of the lakes and rivers; the Jcatchil , a root white on 
the inside and black on the surface ; the arachis , 
hypogcea, or moogfully; and the igname, which fre¬ 
quently weighs several pounds, supply the place of 
the potato 24 . 

The flowers of India are innumerable, and in many 
instances of extraordinary beauty. To describe these 
minutely is the province of the botanist, but in our 
survey of the natural productions of the country we 
cannot wholly pass them over. The first of flowers 
in India, as elsewhere, is the rose, which, besides fur¬ 
nishing poets and lovers with the most beautiful of 
similes, produces the attar 25 , that exquisite essence 
which in sweetness surpasses every other substance 
in the world. As the manufacturing of the attar is 
an object of much importance, immense fields of 
roses are cultivated in the neighbourhood of Luck¬ 
now 26 , Ghazeepore, and in Cashmere, where in spring 

24 Malte-Brun, vol. iii. p. 29. Bishop Heber found celery 
growing wild in great abundance on the hanks of the Ganges, 
near Dacca, vol.i. p. 174; and numerous wild pine-apples in 
Ceylon, though these latter are said to be poisonous, vol. iii. p. 
143. Pennant, however, who observes that the pine-apple is 
found wild in Celebes, Amboyna, and even in the Philippine 
Islands, makes no allusion to its poisonous quality, vol. i. 
p. 221; and Rumphius, lib. viii. c. 41. 

25 The mode of extracting the essence of roses is said to have 
been accidentally discovered by the favourite sultana of Jehanghir. 
To please the voluptuous emperor, she caused the bath in the 
garden of the palace to be filled to the brim with rose-water, and 
the action of the sun concentrated the oily particles which were 
found floating upon the water. Supposing the water had be¬ 
come corrupt, the attendants carefully skimmed away the oily 
matter, in doing which they burst the little globules, and found 
that they emitted the most delicious odour. This suggested the 
idea of artificially procuring the essence by imitating the pro¬ 
cess of nature. 

26 Asiatic Researches, vo.1. i. p. 332—336. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


19 


and summer the air is deeply impregnated with a 
delicious odour. The koonja, a fine species of white 
rose, perfumes the vales of Delhi and Serinagur ; and 
Orissa boasts of its nusreen, a flower of a delicate 
form and exquisite odour, whose leaves are white on 
the outside and yellow within 27 . To these may be 
added the large flowering jasmine; the atimukta; 
the champaca (Michelia champaca), with which the 
Hindoos adorn their hair and perfume their clothes ; 
the ixora , a shrub six feet in height, whose round 
rich clusters of scarlet flowers so nearly resemble 
burning coals that it hds been called “ the flame of 
the woods 28 ;” and the musscenda frondosa, which 
uncloses its beautiful flowers at f&ur in the after¬ 
noon and folds them up again at the same hour in 
the morning 29 . 

But the vegetable productions of India are not 
merely remarkable for their beauty or fragrance; the 
country possesses numerous plants which promote the 
comfort and luxury, and preserve or restore the health 
of mankind. Among these the chief are cotton, flax, 
hemp, opium, indigo, tobacco, saffron, betel, sesamum, 
jalap, and sarsaparilla. Cardamom is produced in the 

27 Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 12. The flora of Ceylon is still 
richer, perhaps, than that of the continent. Mrs. Heber, vol. iii. 
p. 144, observes that the gloriosa superba, the amaryllis, and 
other beautiful flowers grow there in profusion; and adds, “ in 
many places the trees appear to stand on a carpet of flowers.” 

28 “ Flamma sylvarum,” Rumphius, lib. vi. c. 52; Ixora 
coccinea, Lina. 

29 Malte-Brun, vol. iii. p. 29, attributes this property to the 
sindrimal , but without giving his authorities. It is clear, how¬ 
ever, from Pennant and Knox that the musscenda must be meant. 
This shrub is called by the Malays “ the leaf of the princess,” 
because their ladies are fond of the grateful odour of its white 
leaves. Many people transplant it from the woods into their 
gardens, and use it as a dial or clock, especially in cloudy wea¬ 
ther. Pennant’s Outlines of the Globe, vol. i. pi 219; Knox’s 
Historical Relation of the Island of Ceylon, p. 20. 


20 


THE HINDOOS. 


hills of Oude, about the roots of the Ghauts, and in 
Malabar; pepper in Malabar, Bengal, Bahar, and 
Ceylon ; and cotton in nearly all the mountainous 
districts, though the best is said to come from Bengal 
and the Coromandel coast, where likewise the finest 
cotton goods are manufactured. The banks of the 
rivers and lakes or marshes, and generally all the moist 
low lands of India, are for the most part covered with 
forests of bamboo, a species of cane which frequently 
attains the height of sixty feet 30 . These bamboo 
forests, which swarm with monkeys, are the retreat 
of tigers and other large beasts of prey. The bam¬ 
boo is an evergreen, and is applied to numerous 
useful purposes by the natives: with this they con¬ 
struct their light rude dwellings as well as the frame¬ 
work of a species of boat, resembling the coracles or 
vitilia navigia of the ancient Britons 81 . The joints 
of the cane are used as pitchers for carrying water, 
and in China bamboos are employed as pipes for 
conveying water from one part of a town to the other. 
Paper, mats, poles for palankeens, &c. are also made 
of bamboo. The sugar-cane has been cultivated in 
Bengal from remote antiquity 32 . Palm trees of all 

30 Pennant asserts that the bamboo grows to so prodigious 
a height that it overtops all the trees of the forest. Outlines, 
&c. vol. i. p. 144. Though the bamboo shoots up to a greater 
height in a moist soil, it is stouter, healthier, and better timber 
when it grows in warm, dry, or rocky situations. Bishop 
Heber’s Journal, vol. i. p. 264; Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 7. 

31 Hyder Ali carried about with him in all his campaigns a 
great number of these light boats, the frames of which were 
borne by two men, while two others carried the skins with which 
they were covered when used. One of these boats was capable 
of containing twenty-eight men or a piece of cannon; and in a 
quarter of an hour a small fleet of this description could be 
launched on any lake or river which obstructed his march. 
Hist, of Hyder Ali, vol. i. p. 116. 

32 Hamilton observes that the sugar-cane was introduced 
from India into Arabia, and from thence into Europe and Africa. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


21 


varieties are abundantly produced in the plains of 
Hindoostan, and communicate a character of sombre 
grandeur to its landscapes ; and the ficus Indica , 
the Areca nut tree, and the banana, increase the 
'riches, while they add to the beauty of the country. 
The northern provinces produce the apple, the pear, 
the plum, the apricot, the orange, with other Euro¬ 
pean fruits; and the mango, the guava, and the 
bread fruit are found in the south. Nearly all the 
forest trees of Europe abound in the forests of India, 
together with teak and other species of timber peculiar 
to that and the neighbouring countries. Ceylon 
produces the ebony, so much valued by the ancients; 
and according to the Ayeen Akbery, this precious 
wood is also found on the banks of the Ganges S3 . In 
the Dekkan and in the island of Ceylon are found 
the red sandal tree, gamboge, gum lac, the species 
of laurel which produces camphor, cassia, and mace; 
and the cinnamon tree 34 , once supposed to have been 
indigenous in Arabia. 

In mineral productions India is inferior to no 
country on the surface of the globe. Gold, silver, 
and precious stones abound in many parts of the 
empire; and, as the ancients correctly reported, its 

Even the derivation ot the name sugar is in favour of the sup¬ 
position that this commodity was first introduced into the 
western countries from India. The Sanscrit word for sugar is 
sarkat'd, whence the Persian shakar and shakkar , the Arabic 
sokkar, the Greek tran^a^ trdxp^a^ev, the Latin sac- 

charum , &c. 

33 Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 36. 

34 Dr. Vincent, App. to the Periplus of tne Erythraean Sea, 
article 37, lavishes a profusion of learning to prove that the 
nutria, of the Greeks, and the kinnamon besem of the Hebrews, 
was the same with our cinnamon, i. e. the bark in pipes. The 
Greeks, he observes, having no direct communication with the 
East, received the cinnamon from the Phoenicians, to whom it 
was conveyed through Arabia. Dioscorides, with other writers 
of antiquity, erroneously supposed it to be the produce of Arabia 


22 


THE HINDOOS. 


rivers, in many instances, literally roll down their 
waters over golden sands 35 . Diamonds of great 
beauty and magnitude are found ?h Bundelkund, 
Berar, Vizapoor, Balaghaut, the Carnatics, and se¬ 
veral other provinces; as are also sapphires, onyxes, 
amethysts, rubies, rock crystals, marbles, and alabas¬ 
ter 36 . Laph-lazuli, supposed to be the sapphire of 
the ancients, is found in the Beloor Tag and Hindoo 
Koosh; and rock salt, common salt, coal, sulphur, 
nitre, and naphtha abound both in the northern and 
southern provinces, but particularly on the Coroman¬ 
del coast and in the kingdom of Guzerat. 

To the natural historian we abandon the task of 
enumerating and minutely describing the vast multi¬ 
tude of animals which nature has congregated on the 
plains and in the forests of Hindoostan. In our 
rapid glance over the country and its productions^, 
our attention can be arrested only by the most pro¬ 
minent objects; and, in the present instance, it will 
perhaps be sufficient to observe, that in the extensive 
woods and jungles of this extraordinary region the 
principle of life appears to be developed with singular 
activity. Animals of the hugest bulk, of the fiercest 
propensities, and of properties the most destructive, 
are here found in fellowship with the smallest, the 
mildest, and the least hurtful of created things. The 
elephant, the rhinoceros, the lion 37 , the tiger, the 

35 Tieffenthaler, tom. i. p. 222, 274, and tom. ii. p. 269 ; 
Hamilton, Introd. vol. i. p. 21. r * 

36 Malte-Brun, vol. iii. p. 35 ; Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 36. 

37 Malte-Brun, vol. iii. p. 38, asserts that the lion is now un¬ 
known in India: this is a mistake. The large long-maned lion 
now in the Tower of London was caught in Bengal, while a cub, 
by General Watson, who, on his return to this country in 1823, 
presented it to the King. Tower Menagerie, p. 7, 8. Bishop 
Heber, a diligent and able inquirer, observes upon this subject, 
that “ the lion, which was long supposed to be unknown in 
India, is now ascertained to exist in considerable numbers in the 
districts of Saharunuoor arid Loadianah,” vol. ii. p. 149. He 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


23 


hyaena, and the wolf inhabit the same forests and 
haunt the same plains as the camel, the ass, the ante¬ 
lope, the sheep, the rabbit, and the squirrel. Horses 
are neither numerous nor of a fine breed in Hindoo- 
stan; but the elephant, the camel, and the sheep are 
indigenous to the soil, and are still found wild in 
various districts. Naturalists speak of a diminutive 
breed of oxen in Ceylon and the neighbourhood of 
Surat no larger than a Newfoundland dog, which, 
though fierce of aspect, are trained to draw children 
in their little carts. There is a speeies of sheep, on 
the other hand, so high and strong, that, when pro¬ 
perly saddled and bridled, the animals serve instead 
of ponies, and carry children of twelve years of age 38 . 
In the woods to the north of Bengal there is said to 
be a species of buffalo, which, from the tip of the 
horns to the ground, measures fourteen feet 39 . 

Serpents have ever been the objects of the peculiar 
hatred and disgust of mankind. Among many na¬ 
tions they have been the symbol of the evil principle, 
and, when their abject fears have led men to worship 
what they dreaded, have been adored as deities. In 
Hindoostan, where nearly fifty species 40 of these 
deadly reptiles lie in wait for the destruction of man, 
a coiled serpent forms the couch of the god Vishnu, 
and is the frequent attendant on others of their deities. 
But the boa, which sometimes attains the length of 
forty feet, is dignified with divine attributes, consulted 
as an oracle, and worshipped as a god. Serpents of 
smaller dimensions, but equally dangerous and de- 

like wise adds, that lions, as large as those of Africa, have been 
killed on this side the Ganges, in the neighbourhood of Mora- 
dabad and Rampoor in Rohilcund. 

88 Pennant, Outlines of the Globe, vol. i. p. 101. 

88 Pennant’s Outlines, &c. vol. ii. p. 241; Ker’s Animal 
Kingdom, vol. ii. p. 747. 

40 Forty-six, according to Lacepede. 


24 


THE HINDOOS. 


structive, swarm in every forest, thicket, and garden, 
creep into the bed-rooms, twist themselves between 
the lattices of the windows, and nestle in the folds 
of the turban. Of these the most venomous are the 
cobra de capello , or hooded snake, which grows to 
the length of eight or nine feet 41 ; the cobra manilla , 
a little blue snake about a foot in length, which 
haunts old walls, and whose poison causes death in 
a quarter of an hour; and the cobra de aureliia, a 
serpent about the size of a quill, and not more than 
six inches long, whose bite causes madness and 
death 42 . The charming of serpents, which in India 
is a no less useful than curious profession, furnishes 
employment to a particular caste or tribe of men 43 . 

The crocodiles of India are not inferior in size to 
those of Egypt and Ethiopia, growing frequently to 
the length of thirty feet. They abound in the great 
rivers, lakes, and marshes, and for their brutal fierce¬ 
ness and peculiar fondness for human flesh, have 
sometimes been nourished in great numbers in the 
ditches of fortified places, as a kind of garrison 44 . 
There is a peculiar species of this animal, with an 
excrescence in the form of a ball upon its nose, 
found in the Ganges. Another species, about twelve 
feet long, always appears in the tanks after the annual 

41 Pennant’s View of Hindoostan, vol. i. p. 197. “ The In¬ 
dian jugglers,” says this author, “ especially those of Malabar, 
have a power of taming these dreadful animals, and instructing 
them to dance, after the inharmonious and slow air of their 
flageolets.” 

45! Pennant’s View of Hindoostan, vol. i. p. 101. 

43 Nouveaux Rapports des Missions de Halle, cap, 43, p. 648, 
656. 

44 The city of Bejapore, or Vizapoor, was defended by a gar¬ 
rison of crocodiles. Tavernier, vol ii. p. 72. So were several 
cities in Pegu. Purchas’s Pilgrimage, vol. ii. 1737. Pliny 
(vi. 20) alludes to the same practice. These reptiles sometimes 
attain the length of thirty feet in Nubia. Egypt and Mo¬ 
hammed Ali, vol. i. p. 472. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


25 


inundations, and being supposed to be a god in one 
of his transmigrations, is complimented with divine 
honours 45 . Lizards, frogs, and toads abound in 
many of the provinces ; and turtles are numerous in 
the rivers and on the sea coasts. 

Among the birds of Hindoostan, the eagle, the 
vulture, and the peacock are the principal. The vul¬ 
ture abounds wherever there are many dead bodies. 
When there is a scarcity of human flesh, which, 
owing to the intestine wars and superstitions of the 
natives, there has seldom been in India, the vulture 
repairs to the sea-shore, and there patiently watches 
all day the action of the waves, in the hope that 
some dead fishes may be thrown up on the sand 46 . 
When this resource fails it will visit graves and ceme¬ 
teries, and, like the hyaena, disinter and devour the 
putrid corpse. It is sometimes joined on the field by 
wild dogs and jackalls, which have been observed 
feeding with it on the same carcass 47 . The finest 
hawks, for the amusement of falconry, are brought 
from Cashmere. Owls, cockatoos, parrots, bee-eaters, 
and other birds found between the tropics, are com¬ 
mon. Vast flights of aquatic birds hover over the 
Sunderbunds, and in the moist tracts about Surat, 
among which the mute swan, the jabiree, or snail- 
eater, the argali, or adjutant (ardea argala ), the 
white-headed ibis 48 , and the violet heron are the most 
remarkable. The peacock is found in a state ot nature 

45 Pennant‘8 View of Hindoostan, vol. ii. p. 207. 

46 Ibid. p. 36. 

47 This occurred after the attack of the nabob’s camp, before 
the battle of Plassey. Pennant, vol. ii. p. 36. Speaking of the 
same bird, he adds, “ I have been told that whenever an animal 
falls down dead, one or more vultures (unseen before) instantly 
appear: so quick is their scent of death.” p. 37. 

48 The pink-coloured feathers of the tail of this bird are used 
by the ladies of Calcutta as part of their head-dress. Pennant, 
vol. ii. p. 158. 

VOL. I. 


D 


26 


THE HINDOOS. 


in no country but India 49 , where it ranks as the first of 
birds, and with its glorious colours enlivens the solitude 
of the woods. The huge bats of India, and the vam¬ 
pire, or flying cat, may come in here in the rear of the 
birds, between which and the terrestrial animals they 
in some measure form the connecting link. The most 
extraordinary of Indian fishes is that small species 
which appears after the rainy season in places pre¬ 
viously dry. It is caught by the natives on the island 
of Bombay, on the tenth day after the first rains, and 
is a common dish at their tables. Naturalists have 
suggested many modes of accounting for this pheno¬ 
menon ; some imagine the spawn may have been 
brought inland by the water-fowl; others that it is 
caught up by the whirlwinds, which rage with tre¬ 
mendous force at the commencement of the rainy 
season, and afterwards showered down upon the 
land in the torrents which then escape from the 
clouds; others that these fishes were originally frogs, 
but transformed by some wondrous process of nature, 
as the chrysalis is transformed into the butterfly 5 °. 
The mango-fish, of a brilliant orange colour, like a 
ripe mango, swims up the Ganges, as far as Calcutta, 

49 Bishop Heber observes that he saw a flock of wild pea¬ 
cocks at Bareilly, and tame ones in all the villages on the banks 
of the Jumna and in the neighbourhood of Bliurtpoor, vol. ii. 

р. 141, 365. These birds were so rare in Greece that a male 
and female were valued at Athens at a thousand drachmae, or 
£32. 5s. 10 d. sterling. The island of Samos, which was sacred 
to Juno, was celebrated for its peacocks. Aulus Gellius, lib. vii. 

с. 16. 

50 Pennant’s View of Hindoostan, vol. i. p. 102., 103; Seba, 
vol. i. p. 125; and Merian’s Surinam, p. 71. According to the 
rational conjecture of Buchanan, the fish’s eggs, which are ex¬ 
ceedingly tenacious of life, remain all the year in the dry mud, 
and are quickened on the return of the rains. Journey, &c. vol. ii. 
p. 66 ; vol. iii. p. 342. This happens also in the small lakes 
of Lower Egypt, near the Pyramids. Egypt and Mohammed 
Ali, vol. i. p. 228. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA. 


27 


in the month of June, spawns and returns to the sea 
in six weeks. This is the most delicious of Indian 
fish. Swarms of other fish are found in the Ganges 51 ; 
such as the carp, the chub, the anjana , and the ophi- 
diurn aculeatum. On the coasts of Coromandel and 
Malabar fish is so abundant that pigs, dogs, and 
horses are fed upon it 52 . The fierce heat of the 
torrid zone calls into life innumerable insects, un¬ 
known in more northern regions; and crowds of 
locusts, scorpions, black and white ants, and butter¬ 
flies, swarm over the face of the country. Silk¬ 
worms are found in Bengal, and towards the north 
of Poonah, in the Dekkan 53 . 

51 Pliny had heard of eels three hundred feet long being founu 
in this river! Duperron supposes that he must have meant 
alligators, which would mend the matter but little, as alligators 
are no more three hundred feet long than eels. Tieffenthaler, 
tom. ii. p. 269. 

52 Malte-Brun, vol. iii. p. 43. In this general outline of the 
country, and in the ensuing more minute description of the 
provinces, reference was constantly made to Mr. Arrowsmith’s 
Map of India, which, though not certainly without errors, is a 
work of great value to the geographer. 

53 See Dr. Roxburgh’s paper on the silkworms of Bengal, 
in the seventh volume of the Transactions of the Linnaean 
Society; and Colonel Sykes’ account of the Kolisurra silk¬ 
worms" in the Dekkan, Transactions of tho Royal Asiatic 
Society, vol. iii. p. 541, &c. 


28 


THE HINDOOS. 


Chapter II. 

PROVINCES OF INDIA. 

Having now given a comprehensive description o 
the general aspect of Hindoostan, its rivers, moun¬ 
tains, plants, and animals, we shall next proceed to 
enumerate and describe separately the several pro¬ 
vinces which compose the empire.—The first of these, 
both in extent and importance, is Bengal 1 . This 
province, which has frequently formed a separate king¬ 
dom, is strongly protected by nature on all sides from 
foreign invasion; on the north, by a belt of impene¬ 
trable thickets 2 and a chain of low mountains; by 
vast rivers and another mountainous ridge on the 
east; on the south, by an inaccessible shore and im¬ 
penetrable woods; and on the west, by a sterile 
and almost desert frontier. Bengal is divided by the 
Ganges into two nearly equal parts, of which that on 
the eastern side of the river is least accessible to an 
enemy 3 . With the exception of a few gentle hills on 
the north, the whole province may be termed one 
vast plain, like the country between the Tigris and 
the Euphrates, or the level tract of land which sepa¬ 
rates the Volga from the Jaik. In all the level ground 
of the southern districts, which is overflowed in the 

1 The ancient name of this province was Banga. 

2 “ Along the whole northern frontier, from Assam, westward, 
there runs a belt of low land, from ten to twenty miles in breadth, 
covered with the most exuberant vegetation, particularly a rank 
weed, named in Bengal the augeah-gxass, which sometimes grows 
to the height of thirty feet, and thick as a man’s wrist, and. 
mixed with these are tall forest trees.” Hamilton, vol i. p. 2. 

3 Hamilton’s Description, vol. i. p. 2. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


29 


rainy season, rice is cultivated, and thrives luxuriantly, 
but as we ascend the Ganges it gradually gives place 
to wheat and barley. Besides these kinds of grain the 
province produces cotton, indigo, tobacco, opium, and 
the mulberry tree. Its forests abound with wild 
boars, elephants, buffaloes, antelopes 4 , and deer, and 
its rivers, but more especially the Ganges, with fish; 
of which the principal are the delicious mango, already 
alluded to in our general description, and the mullet, 
which, as it swims against the stream with its head 
above water, is shot like a bird 5 . 

The most remarkable portion of Bengal is the 
disma region of the Sunderbunds 6 , or that thickly- 
wooded swampy belt which forms the southern border 
of the delta of the Ganges, and is itself bounded by 
the ocean. This whole region is a mere labyrinth of 
creeks and rivers, and appears in the course of ages 
to have been traversed in every direction by the prin¬ 
cipal branches of the Ganges, which seem, in fact, to 
have formed this delta by their deposits, there being 
no appearance of virgin earth from the Tipperah hills 
on the east, to the district of Burdwan on the west 7 . 
Forests of vast extent here cover the whole soil, and 
encroach upon the rivers ; the masts of vessels sailing 
up or down the streams being frequently entangled 
in the branches of the trees. These wide extended 
woods are inhabited only by a few fanatical fakeers. 

4 In the Institutes of Menu, the country in which it is lawful 
for a follower of the Brahminical religion to live is determined 
by certain natural boundaries: the legislator then proceeds, 
“ that land on which the black antelope ( antilope cervicapra ) 
naturally grazes is held fit for the performance of sacrifices.” 
Menu, ii. 23. Parallel passages occur in several other ancient 
Hindoo law-codes. 

5 Hamilton’s Description, vol. i. p. 28. 

6 This word is derived from sundari-vana , “ a forest of sundari 
trees.” Hamilton, vol. i. p. 123. The sundari is a small timber 
treo {herritiera minor). 

7 Hamilton, vol. i. p. 123. 

D 3 


30 


THE HINDOOS. 


On all sides a gloomy silence prevails, occasionally 
broken by the cooing of the dove, the bray of the 
deer, the crowing of the cock, the screaming of the 
parroquets, and the leaping and springing of monkeys 
from tree to tree. Alligators of enormous size may 
almost every where be seen basking on the sunny 
banks of the rivers, or plunging into the streams; 
while huge tigers prowl about the margin of the 
water, and spring suddenly upon the miserable wood¬ 
cutter 8 or salt-maker, or swim out into the rivers to 
attack the boats’ crews lying at anchor. The fakeers 
themselves, who pretend to possess charms sufficiently 
powerful to repel these indiscriminating persecutors, 
and live in miserable huts by the river-side, where 
they receive the prayers and the charity of the passers- 
by, become the prey of the tigers, and disappear one 
after the other. The cultivation of these salt marshy 
lands is supposed to be impracticable; and, even were 
it otherwise, it might not perhaps be judicious to clear 
away the forests, which, besides furnishing the capital 
with an inexhaustible supply of wood for fuel, boat¬ 
building, and other purposes, present a strong natural 
barrier against maritime invasion along the whole 
southern frontier of the province. 

The most fertile and best cultivated portion of 
Bengal is the district of Burdwan, which, environed 
by the jungles of Midnapoor, Pacheta, and Birbhoom, 
appears like a garden in the midst of a wilderness. 

8 “ Many of the wood-cutters are Hindoos, who have assigned 
to various gods and goddesses particular portions of the Sunder- 
bunds. These Hindoo labourers raise elevations of earth, three 
or four inches high and about three feet square, upon which 
they place balls of earth, and having painted them red, perform 
worship before them, offering rice, flowers, fruit, and the waters 
of the Ganges. The head boatman then fasts and goes to 
sleep; during which last operation a god or goddess informs 
him in a dream where wood may be cut without dread of tigers.” 
Hamilton’s Description of Hindostan, vol. i. p. 125. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


31 


It was ceded, with other districts, to the British go¬ 
vernment in 1760, and has gone on from that period 
improving in cultivation and riches. It produces 
sugar, cotton, indigo, pawn, tobacco, and mulberry 
trees; and three great roads convey its productions 
to Hooghly, Culna, and Cutwa, the district not 
having the advantage of internal navigation 9 . 

The seasons of Bengal are the cold, the hot, and 
the rainy. In the month of April, or earlier in some 
parts, storms, accompanied by thunder, lightning, 
and rain, are frequent, and generally, towards the 
close of the day, set in from the north-west. These 
continue to mitigate the heat, until the commencement 
of the rains in June. When the monsoon breaks up 
early in September the weather grows intolerably 
hot, and the inhabitants, especially the Europeans, 
become very sickly. In the eastern and middle dis¬ 
tricts thunder-storms and sometimes milder showers 
refresh the atmosphere and mitigate the heat. Fogs 
are frequent in winter, and there falls an abundant 
penetrating dew. Frost and extreme cold are expe¬ 
rienced in the mountainous parts, and even in the 
plain ice is obtained simply by assisting evaporation 
in porous vessels 10 . 

On the south of Bengal, proceeding along the sea- 
coast, lies the province of Orissa; bounded on the 
east by the sea, and on the west by the province of 
Gundwana; whilst on the south, an imaginary line, 
draw r n due west from the northern point of the Chilka 
lake, divides it from the northern Circars 11 : this pro- 

9 Hamilton’s Description, vol. i. p. 153. 

30 Ibid. p. 16, 18. 

11 Malte-Brun, vol. iii. p. 147. Formerly, however, Orissa 
extended much farther to the south, and comprehended the 
greater part of the northern Circars. In his map, drawn and 
coloured by Arcowsmith, Hamilton agrees with the French 
geographer in making Orissa extend only as far as the Chilka 
lake; but he asserts in the text that the river Godavery is tin 
real southern boundary of Orissa, vol. ii. p. 31. 


32 


THE HINDOOS. 


bably was the country of the ancient Gangaridae (see 
Pliny, N. H. vi. 20). The interior of the province, 
consisting of rugged hills, pathless deserts and jungles, 
deep water-courses, and impenetrable forests, per¬ 
vaded by a pestilential atmosphere, remains in a very 
savage state, and forms a strong natural barrier to the 
maritime districts. Even the plain country, though 
by nature exceedingly fertile, is neither well cultivated 
nor thickly peopled. Rice and salt are the principal 
articles of produce; the former is sufficiently abun¬ 
dant to allow of exportation. The sea-coast is fre¬ 
quently visited by tremendous hurricanes, and the 
low lands are liable to sudden and destructive inun¬ 
dations. Wild beasts multiply with such astonishing 
rapidity in the jungles and upland forests of this 
province, that they are daily gaining ground upon 
the inhabitants, and extending their empire ; even the 
low lands are occasionally infested by jackalls, tigers, 
and other noxious and rapacious animals. 

In the district of Cuttac in this province stands 
the celebrated temple of Jagannat’h 12 . It is situ¬ 
ated on a low sandy plain, about one mile and a half 
from the sea-shore, and is chiefly remarkable for the 
superstitious rites of which it is the scene, being in 
itself a mere mass of shapeless and decayed granite, 
now much damaged by a late earthquake. It is 
said, however, to contain images of Krishna and of 
his brother and sister, which the Hindoos believe to 
be four thousand years old 13 . The precincts of this 
temple for ten miles round are accounted so holy, 

12 Properly Jagannat’ha, i. e. u The Lord of the Universe,” 
which is in Sanscrit one of the names of Vishnu or Krishna. 
The temple is called by the title of the deity to which it is sacred. 
The name is sometimes corruptedly written Juggernauth. 

13 Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 16, 18; Bernier’s Travels, Os¬ 
born’s Collection, folio, p. 198; Travels of W. Bruton, Osborn’s 
Collection, vol. ii. p. 277; Anquetil Duperron, Zendavesta, 
Disc. Prelim, tom, i. p. 81; Sonnerat, Voy. aux Indes Orien- 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


33 


that whoever dies within them is secure of heaven. 
Hence the self-sacrifices perpetrated during the thir¬ 
teen religious festivals celebrated at this temple, 
and the desire of old persons to end their days in 
its vicinity. The whole region seems to be conse¬ 
crated to death. The numerous roads leading to 
the temple from various portions of the empire are 
strewed with human bones; and the bodies crushed 
by the rat'h , on grand festivals, are lef on the 
ground, festering in the burning sun. At the samje 
time, as if to shew the affinity between gloomy super¬ 
stition and voluptuousness, the car of this odious god 
is painted with figures indescribably obscene, and 
the dances of the attending priests are equally re¬ 
markable for theirdisgusting indecency 14 . 

Following the coast line towards Cape Comorin, 
the next province which presents itself is that of the 
Northern Circars, which, stretching along the shore 
for four hundred and seventy miles, from Malond on 
the Chilka lake, to Mootapilly at the mouth of the river 
Gundegama, includes a portion of the ancient province 
of Orissa. The Northern Circars are divided from 
Gundwana by a chain of lofty and nearly impassable 
mountains; from the province of Hyderabad, on the 
west, by a range of small detached hills; and on the 
south, from Ongole, and the Carnatic below the 
Ghauts, by the small river Gundegama. 

In the northern portion of this province the mon¬ 
soon rains generally commence about the middle of 
June, with gentle showers and a westerly wind, and 
continue to the end of August, when the small grain 
harvest is concluded. From this time until the end 

tales, tom. i. p. 218 ; Mansbach, in the Transactions of the 
Royal Asiatic Society, vol. iii. p. 253, &c. 

14 Hamilton’s Description, vol. ii. p. 50, 58; Ward’s View 
of the History, Literature, and Mythology of the Hindoos, vol. 
iii. p. 163; Buchanan’s Christian Researches, p. 19 — 39. 


34 


THE HINDOOS. 


of October, there is heavy and continued rain, and 
the monsoon, which is succeeded by a north-easterly 
wind, closes with violence in the beginning of No¬ 
vember. The season which now commences is the 
pleasantest period of the year, and during its con¬ 
tinuance the second and third harvests are gathered 
in. The hot season commences about the close of 
the vernal equinox; but, on account of the hilly nature 
of the country, and the constant succession of cool 
refreshing breezes from the sea, the temperature of 
the atmosphere is seldom very high. 

To the south of the Godavery the seasons assume 
a different aspect.. During the first two months pre¬ 
ceding the rains the heat is moderated by the sea- 
breezes, and strong gales from the south; but the 
latter blowing over a succession of salt, stagnant, 
marshy pools on the coast, exert a baneful influence 
upon animal and vegetable life. These are succeeded 
by a burning wind from the west, which prevails 
throughout the month immediately preceding the 
rains, and during its continuance the heat, especially 
near the mouth of the Krishna, becomes nearly in*- 
tolerable 15 . The soil of this province is sandy upon 
the coast, but improves as you advance into the in¬ 
terior. It is watered by numerous small rivers; is 
exceedingly fertile in grain, and its mountain forests 
abound in teak trees of the largest growth. Owing 
to the prevalence of the sea breezes, fruits, roots, and 
esculent vegetables are scarce. The neighbouring 
sea, with its numerous inlets, abounds with every 
variety of Indian fish 16 . 

The Carnatic, which extends from the river Gun- 

15 Neither wood nor glass is capable of bearing this heat for 
any length of time; the latter, such as shades and globe lan¬ 
terns, crack and fly to pieces ; the former warps and shrinks so, 
that the nails fall out of the doors and tables. Hamilton’s 
Description, vol. ii. p. 61. 

16 Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 60—94. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


35 


degama to Cape Comorin 17 , comprehends the former 
dominions and dependencies of the Nabob of Arcot, 
and is five hundred and sixty miles in length by about 
seventy-five in breadth. This province is divided into 
the Northern, the Central, and the Southern Carnatic. 

The first of these divisions extends from the southern 
limit of the Guntoor Circar to the river Panaur, and 
includes a portion of the district of Nellore 18 , Ongole, 
and other smaller districts; the second extends from 
the Panaur to the Coleroon, and contains the re¬ 
mainder of Nellore, Serdamilly, Chandghery, Chin- 
gleput, Vellore, Conjee, Wandiwash, Gingee, Palam- 
cotta, Volconda, and a portion of Trichinopoly; the 
third extends from the Coleroon to Cape Comorin, 
and comprehends the remainder of Trichinopoly, the 
Poligar’s territory, the districts of Marawa, Madura, 
and Tinnevelly, and the kingdom of Tanjore. 

The principal rivers of the Carnatic are the Panaur, 
the Palaur, the Voygaroo, and the Cavery. These 
rivers have their sources in the table-land above the 
Ghauts, which, by their vast height and great extent, 
divide the Carnatic into two natural divisions, the 
one above, and the other below the Ghauts, and by 
impeding and changing the course of the winds, di¬ 
vide the seasons. The soil of the province along the 
coast is, for the most part, light and sandy. In the 
interior the basis of the soil is a decomposition of 

17 From the sixteenth to the eighth degree of north latitude. 
Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 399. 

18 Near the town of this name a peasant discovered, in 1787, 
while ploughing, the remains of a small Hindoo temple, under 
which a little pot was found containing Roman coins and me¬ 
dals of the second century. Some were sold as old gold and 
melted; hut about thirty were preserved. Of these many were 
fresh and beautiful; others, which had probably been worn as 
ornaments, were perforated and defaced. They were mostly 
Trajans, Adrians, and Faustinas, and all of the purest gold. 
—Qrme: Davidson and Hamilton. 


36 


THE HINDOOS. 


sienite impregnated with common salt, which in dry 
weather clothes the surface of the fields with a saline 
efflorescence. The climate of the Carnatic is one of 
the hottest in India 19 ; but in May, June, and July, 
the air is cooled and the earth refreshed by frequent 
showers, or by torrents of rain, which sometimes 
deluge the country. At other times vegetation is 
scorched, shrunk up, or buried beneath the clouds of 
fine dust which are driven along like mist by burning 
winds from the interior. 

The Carnatic is remarkable neither for its mines 
nor for its agricultural productions. No stately fo¬ 
rests bestow grandeur upon its mountains, and its 
plains are neither pleasant nor fertile. Its chief pro¬ 
duce is dhourra, betel, tobacco, the dwarf cotton 
tree, and raghi (Cynosurus Corocanus), a small grain 
on which the poorer natives chiefly subsist. The rice 
harvest is poor and scanty, and the sugar-cane does 
not thrive 20 . The Coromandel 21 coast is low and 
sterile, and the sea, extremely shallow, is here rendered 
dangerous by a perpetual current and a tremendous 
surf. The only signs of vegetation discoverable from 
the sea are thickets of low bushes and wild nopal 
trees 22 . In the immediate vicinity of Madras the soil 

19 The temperature during the summer months is so high, 
that at Madras the air would be insufferable were it not cooled 
when passing into the houses by wet mats of the fragrant cusa 
grass suspended at the doors and windows. 

20 Hamilton’s Description of Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 400. 

81 Properly Ckola Mandala. “ In Sanscrit the primitive 
meaning of the latter word is orbit or circle, and thence a region 
or tract of country ; and probably it received its name from the 
Chola dynasty, the ancient sovereigns of Tanjore.” Hamilton, 
vol. ii. p. 405. Wilson’s Catalogue of the Mackenzie Collec¬ 
tion.. vol. i. p. 180, &c. 

22 The nopal is the prickly pear upon which the cochineal 
insect feeds. This plant keeps fresh, and even continues to 
vegetate 1 ©ng after it is gathered, and it also makes an excel- 
lent pickle for sea voyages. Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 409, 


PROVINCES OF INDIA, 


37 


produces, when well cultivated and sufficiently watered 
by the periodical rains, a good crop of rice, and a pleas¬ 
ing verdure is maintained by the indefatigable industry 
of the natives. Beyond this small circle the country, 
which is nearly as flat as Bengal, is nothing but one 
vast, naked, brown dusty plain, interspersed with few 
villages or signs of life or vegetation 23 . The districts 
of Ongole and Nellore, the most northern portion of 
the Carnatic, are said to contain several copper mines; 
but hitherto they have not been successfully worked. 

The mountainous districts of the Carnatic contain 
the ruins of a prodigious number of fortresses and 
pagodas upon which are found numerous inscriptions 
in the Tamul character 24 . 

In the district of Arcot, to the south of Nellore, 
stands the celebrated temple of Tripetty 25 , in a se¬ 
cluded hollow surrounded by mountains. The di¬ 
vinity worshipped here under the name of Yencata 
Rama, or Tripati, is an incarnation of Vishnu; and 
by the Hindoos his shrine is considered too holy even 
to be looked upon by a Christian or Mohammedan. 
To purchase the inviolability of this structure the 
Brahminical priesthood pay annually to the Govern¬ 
ment a sum amounting to thirty thousand pounds 
sterling 26 . 

23 Yet the author of the Ayeen Akbery speaks of the country 
within the sandy belt, which runs along the coast, as being 
fertile and covered with grain, ripening in rapid succession 
throughout the year. And Paulinus describes the coast as 
resembling “un theatre de verdure,” tom. i. p. 2. 

24 Malte-Brun’s Geography, vol. iii. p. 121. 

29 “ Les pelerins y presentent leurs offrandes, et se font 
couper les cheveux dont ils font un sacrifice au dieu Vishnou. 
Cette divinite, dans le huitieme de ses apparitions, represente 
le dieu Krichna-Gopala, c’est-a-dire, le dieu Berger noir et 
jeune.” Voyage aux Indes Orientales, par Paulin de St. 
Bartheiemy, tom. i. p. 46. 

26 Dr. Francis Buchanan; Majoi Rennell’s Memoir; and 
Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 431. 

VOL. I. 


E 


38 


THE HINDOOS. 


At Trivicary, a village in the district of Southern 
Arcot, and once a place of great importance, there is 
a magnificent pagoda, over the gate of which rises a 
stupendous stone tower, eight stories high. The 
tank from which this temple is supplied with water 
covers several acres of ground. In the neighbour¬ 
hood are found the most extraordinary petrifactions, 
among which is a tree eight feet in diameter and 
sixty feet in length, as hard as flint. On the sea- 
coast of the same district are the celebrated pagodas 
of Chillimbaram, enclosed by a high wall of blue 
stone. The principal of these favourite places of 
pilgrimage is constructed on the same plan as the 
temple of Jagannat’h, and although of smaller di¬ 
mensions is an exquisite specimen of Hindoo archi¬ 
tecture. Among the curiosities of this temple is a 
chain of granite five hundred and forty-eight feet in 
length, ^beautifully wrought and polished, forming 
four festoons, and extending from the four angles of 
the cupola to the nave. Each link of this chain is 
upwards of three feet in length, and the whole is 
supported by four huge stones projecting in the form 
of wedges from the walls 29 . 

This portion of the peninsula is renowned for its 
holy edifices and extensive rums. On the sea-coast, 
thirty-five miles south of Madras, is Mahamalaipur 
or Mahabalipuram, usually called by the English 
the Seven Pagodas, a collection of extraordinary 
ruins, among which are found a temple cut out of the 
solid rock, and many sculptured idols, both in basso 
and alto relievo. On another part of the hill is a 
colossal figure of Vishnu, reposing on the coils of a 
huge serpent. According to the legendary tales of 
the Brahmins at Mahamalaipur these ruins mark the 
site of a great city, now partly covered by the sea. 

27 Legoux de Flaix, tom. i. p. 118. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


39 


But Dr. Babington* who has given a description of 
the place in the second volume of the Transactions of 
the Royal Asiatic Society, doubts whether that report 
is correct, and is inclined to believe that the se¬ 
questered and picturesque situation of the rocks and 
caves induced certain Brahmins to obtain royal grants 
for founding a sanctuary here, and that they from 
time to time employed stone-masons to ornament 
the rocks with the excavations and sculptures which 
are now to be seen here 28 . 

Next to Burdwan in Bengal, the district of Tanjore, 
in this province, is the most highly cultivated and 
productive territory in India; the waters of the Ca- 
very, separated from those of the Coleroon by enor¬ 
mous mounds, being distributed by canals over the 
whole country. Tanjore, the capital of the district, 
and anciently a celebrated seat of Hindoo learning, 
contains the most beautiful pyramidical temple in 
Hindoostan, in which is preserved the figure of a 
bull in black granite, finely sculptured 29 . Near Com- 
booconam, twenty-three miles north-east of Tanjore, 
and in the midst of a richly cultivated country, there 
is a sacred pond, which once in twelve years has the 
power of washing away the moral stains of those who 
bathe in it, and is consequently piously resorted to by 

28 Hamilton remarks that it is not known why the place has 
been thus named, as there are not seven pagodoes, vol. ii. p. 
450. Bishop Heber visited these ruins. He observes, that 
exactly at day-break he “ reached the rocky beach below the 
seven pagodas, and where the surf, according to the Hindoos, 
rolls and roars over the city of the great Bali. One very old 
temple of Vishnu stands immediately on the brink and amid 
the dash of the spray; and there are really some small remains 
of architecture, among which a tall pillar, supposed by some 
to be a lingam, is conspicuous, which rises from among the 
waves.” Vol. iii. p. 216—218. On the inscriptions found at 
Mahamalaipur, see Transact, of the Roy. Asiat. Society, vol. ii. 
p. 258, &c. 

29 Lord Valentia’s Travels. 


40 


THE HINDOOS. 


all descriptions of sinners. To the west of Tanjore 
lie the mild and fertile district of Trichinopoly, and 
the island of Seringham, celebrated for its magnificent 
pagodas 30 , and to the south of these are Dindigul and 
Madura. The small tract of country which is deno¬ 
minated Dindigul is adorned with woods and inter- 
spersed with small hillocks; and the climate is one 
of the finest in Hindoostan, the air being perpetually 
cooled by passing showers. Madura is warmer, and, 
containing many jungles and marshes, more un¬ 
healthy 81 . 

In the straits between this part of the continent 
and Ceylon, lies the little island of Ramisseram, or 
the Pillar of Ram, renowned in the Hindoo mytho¬ 
logy as the scene of the exploits of Rama, one of the 
incarnations of Vishnu. The great pagoda of this 
island, a stupendous structure, which for the mas¬ 
siveness of its architecture may be compared with 
the temples of Egypt or the Cyclopean edifices of 
Italy, is entered by a gateway one hundred feet high, 
covered with sculpture to the summit. The door, 
forty feet in height, is composed of single blocks of 
stone, arranged perpendicularly and held together by 
other blocks fixed transversely at the top and bottom. 
At this pagoda the waters of the Ganges, transported 
thither by the piety of numerous pilgrims, and having 
acquired additional virtue and sanctity by being 
poured over the statue of the Lingam, is sold to the 
devout at an exorbitant price. The priests of this 
temple observe or profess perpetual celibacy 32 . 

The province of Travancore, extending along the 
western coast of the peninsula from Cape Comorin to 
the tenth degree of north latitude, is bounded on the 
south and west by the sea; on the east by a range of 

30 Malte-Brun’s Geography, vol. iii. p. 187. 

31 Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 470, 

32 Cordiner’s Account of Ceylon, vol. ii. p. 1—3. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


41 


lofty hills, dividing it from Tinnevelly; and on the 
north by the territories of the Cochin Rajah. The 
whole territory is in the highest degree picturesque 
and beautiful, consisting of hills, valleys, and lofty 
mountains, watered by numerous streams, and co¬ 
vered with magnificent forests in perpetual verdure. 
The trees composing these forests produce pepper, 
cardamoms, cassia, frankincense, and other aromatic 
gums. Elephants, buffaloes, and tigers of the largest 
size abound in the woods; where monkeys and apes 
are also found in immense herds or families 33 . The 
produce of Travancore consists of rice, which is abun¬ 
dant, and cultivated without the aid of artificial irri¬ 
gation,—pepper, betel, the cocoa-nut, tobacco, cassia, 
mace, long nutmegs, and wild saffron. The kokila 
(Cuculus Indicus) is frequently met with 34 . 

The small province of Cochin is bounded on the 
north by Malabar, on the east by the Dindigul dis¬ 
trict, on the south by Travancore, and on the west 
by the sea 35 . The northern portion of Cochin con¬ 
sists of a succession of narrow valleys, well watered 
by small perennial streams, in which rice is culti¬ 
vated, and yields two crops in the year. The moun¬ 
tains are covered with stately forests, and the plains 
which skirt the bottoms of the hills are dotted with 
groves of palms, mangoes, jacks, and plantains, in 
which the houses of the natives are embosomed. The 
mountain-forests abound with teak, but of an inferior 
quality, erambo or iron-wood, black-wood, and jack- 
wood, which is used only for cabinet-work. The 

33 Paulin de St. Barthelemy, tom. i.; with the remarks of 
Forster, tom. iii. p. 156—158. 

34 Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 309—322. 

35 See on the subject of Cochin, Paulin de St. Barthelemy, 
tom. i. p.215—226; Baldseus’ Description ofthe Coast of India. 
&c. p. Ill—-136; and Hamilton’s New Account of the East- 
Indies. 


42 


THE HINDOOS, 


chief exports from this province are pepper, carda¬ 
moms, teak-wood and sandal-wood, cocoa-nuts, coir 
cordage, cassia, and fish-maws 36 . 

The province of Malabar extends tor about two 
hundred miles along- the coast, from the northern 
limits of Cochin to the river Chandraghiri, and is a 
narrow slip of land lying between the western Ghauts 
and the sea. A great portion of the country is com¬ 
paratively low 3? , but intersected by narrow ravines, 
covered with forests and jungles, and lavishly wa¬ 
tered by innumerable small streams and torrents 
from the mountains. Towards the month of Febru¬ 
ary the heat begins to be intense, and numerous va¬ 
pours spread themselves, as at Lima in Peru, like a 
canopy over the whole face of the country, sometimes 
ascending as high as the summits of the mountains, 
and again sinking to the earth, like an ocean in per¬ 
petual ebb and flow. This vapoury covering re¬ 
mains thus floating in perturbation till the setting in 
of the monsoon, when it is precipitated to the earth 
in rain 

One of the two portions into which this province 
may be divided consists of small low hills, of which 
the sides are steep, but formed into terraces and culti¬ 
vated, the summits level and composed in most in¬ 
stances of native rock. The valleys between these 
hills are extremely fertile, and support a numerous 
population. The sandy plain on the sea-coast, which 
upon an average is about three miles wide, rises in 
the immediate vicinity of the sea into slightly-elevated 

36 Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 302—308. 

37 Paulin de St. Barthelemy informs us that, according to 
the traditions of the natives, the sea formerly flowed up to the 
foot of the Ghauts; and that consequently the whole level 
country of Malabar is an alluvial soil, created by the mountain 
torrents, tom, i. p. 212. See also the observations of Forster 
on the formation of Islands and Downs on the Sea-coast, 
tom. iii. p. 160, 161. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


43 


downs,, well adapted for the cocoa-nut tree, and a 
little further inland produces excellent rice. The 
coast is indented by numerous inlets of the sea, which 
in many places receive the rapid torrents that rush 
down from the mountains. On other parts of the 
shore, the water of these torrents, opposed in their 
passage by elevated sandy downs, stagnate and fer¬ 
tilize the country, but are not thought detrimental to 
the salubrity of the air. One of the nameless rivers 
of this province produces gold-dust. There are few 
towns or villages in Malabar, except on the sea-coast. 
The inhabitants prefer residing on their estates, and 
their neat solitary' dwellings, usually erected on rising 
grounds, are surrounded by walled gardens, and 
shaded by betel and cocoa-nut trees. On this account 
the whole country, interspersed with cottages, gar- 
dens, and groves, has a pleasing and picturesque 
appearance. The chief produce of Malabar is black 
pepper, cocoa-nuts, cardamoms, and teak and sandal¬ 
wood. The number of cocoa-nut trees in this pro¬ 
vince is supposed to amount to three millions, of 
which many single trees will yield annually five hun¬ 
dred nuts 38 . 

Still following the coast-line towards the north, we 
next arrive at the province of Canara, which is com¬ 
monly divided into North and South Canara, and 
extends from the river Chandraghiri to Cape Rama, 
near Goa, in the Concan. This province, one hun¬ 
dred a*nd eighty miles in length, is bounded on the 
east by the Ghauts, on the south by Malabar, on 
the west by the sea, and on the north by the province 
ol Bejapoor. Though of a broken and rugged sur¬ 
face, Canara for the most part is well cultivated, and 
produces considerable quantities of rice, betel-nut* 

38 Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 272—301 ; Buchanan’s Journey 
through the Mysore, &c. vol. ii. p. 347. The name of Malabar 
is derived from Malaya. 


44 


THE HINDOOS. 


black pepper, cardamoms, and plantains. The bul¬ 
locks of this province, being- not much larger than 
long-legged goats, are too feeble for use; and the 
produce of the country is therefore transported from 
place to place on men’s heads. In the northern di¬ 
vision of Canara is situated the lake of Onore, which 
is of very considerable extent, and thickly sprinkled 
with small islands, of which some few are cultivated. 
The waters of this lake are rather brackish in the dry 
season, but quite fresh during the rains, and abound 
with fish, which, when dried, form an important 
article of commerce. 

This province, and the countries bordering upon it, 
have usually been called the Georgia of Hindoostan, 
being renowned for beautiful women. Our authori¬ 
ties add, however, that the men are exceedingly 
jealous, and will scarcely allow their wives or daugh¬ 
ters to be seen by strangers: a circumstance which 
somewhat lessens the value of the testimony of tra¬ 
vellers on the subject of their charms 39 . 

Bejapoor is bounded on the north by the province 
of Aurungabad, on the east by a portion of the 
same province and Hyderabad, on the south by the 
rivers Toombudra and Wurda, and by Canara, and 

39 Canara having been long in the possession of Carnata 
princes, obtained from them its present corrupt appellation. 
It is clear from Buchanan’s account that there are in this pro¬ 
vince other modes of transporting goods than that mentioned 
in the text. “ The country looks well; for even the greater 
part of the sandy height is enclosed, and planted for timber 
and fuel. Except where the cattle were forced to swim over a 
very wide river, called Mabuculla, the road was comparatively 
excellent. This river descends from the Ghauts, and in the 
rainy season brings down a great body of fresh water; but 
where the road crosses, it is at this season quite salt. The 
tide goes up from the sea about three cosses; and canoes, in 
the rainy season, can ascend six cosses from the mouth. The 
banks are well planted with cocoa-nut trees, which in Tulava 
seem confined to such places.” 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


45 


on the west by the sea. It is about three hundred 
and twenty miles in length, and two hundred in 
breadth. The western portion of Bejapoor, especi¬ 
ally in the neighbourhood of the Ghauts, is extremely 
rugged and mountainous ; but towards the east the 
country expands into a fine fertile champaign, wa¬ 
tered by numerous noble rivers. The banks of the 
Bheema, a river which flows through this part of the 
province, are celebrated for a fine breed of horses, 
which used to supply the best portion of the Mahratta 
cavalry. That part of Bejapoor which lies between 
the Ghauts and the sea is denominated the Concan. 

The city of Bejapoor 40 , anciently the capital of an 
extensive Musulman kingdom, and renowned for its 
vast dimensions and magnificence, is situated on an 
eminence, about twenty-six miles north of the river 
Krishna. It is now in ruins; but its immense for¬ 
tress, its .stately and splendid mausolea, mosques, 
and minarets, some of which still remain entire, attest 
its ancient grandeur. 

From the Ghauts to the sea, the country gradually 
declines, and numerous streams, having their sources 
in the higher lands, flow over and fertilize it; but there 
is no considerable river. Formerly the whole coast 
of the Concan, which is bold and indented with nu¬ 
merous bays and harbours, was greatly infested with 
pirates, whose principal haunts were Warree, Gheria, 
and Victoria on the Bauncole river; but the English 
have now succeeded in clearing the coast and the sea 
of these miscreants. 

In the southern part of the Concan, two hundred 
and fifty miles south-south-east of Bombay, stands 
the city of Goa 41 , where the Inquisition, introduced 

40 The Viziapoor of our old European travellers. Hamilton, 
vol. ii. p. 207 ; Buchanan, vol. iii. p. 104. 

41 The Hindoo name of this city is Tissouri. Tieffenthaler, 
Descrip, del’lnde, tom. i. p.364. See, for an account of these 


46 


THE HINDOOS. 


into India as an instrument of conversion, perpetrated 
in the name of religion the most odious atrocities. 
The city of Bijanagur, of considerable antiquity, and 
formerly eight miles in circumference, is situated in 
the interior of this province. It was once the capital 
of the kingdom of Narasingha, and is said to have 
been distinguished for its splendour and magnificence. 

The province of Aurungabad, which lies to the 
north of Bejapoor, is bounded on the west by the 
sea, on the east by Berar and Hyderabad, and on the 
north by Berar, Khandeish, and Guzerat. It con¬ 
tains many celebrated cities, and is renowned as 
having been the original seat of the Mahratta power, 
and the scene of many memorable events. It was in 
all probability in the capital of this province that Au- 
rungzebe, while viceroy of the Dekkan, matured 
Ahose deep-laid schemes which ultimately placed him 
on the throne of India, and enabled him to achieve 
an unenviable immortality. 

The fortress of Ahmednuggur, beautifully situated 

horrors, Buchanan’s Christian Researches, p. 156—182; and 
Dellon’s Account of the Inquisition at Goa, whose descriptions, 
as Dr. Buchanan observes, are in general very accurate. When 
Buchanan visited the place in 1808, he put Dellon’s book into 
the hands of the Chief Inquisitor. “ He had never seen it 
before, and began to read with eagerness. He had not pro¬ 
ceeded far. before he betrayed evident symptoms of uneasiness. 
He turned hastily to the middle of the book and then to the 
end, and then ran over the table of contents at the beginning, 
as if to ascertain the full extent of the evil. He then com¬ 
posed himself to read, while I continued to write. He then 
then turned over the pages with rapidity, and when he came to 
a certain place he exclaimed in a broad Italian accent, ‘ Men* 
dacium, mendacium.’ I requested he would mark those pas¬ 
sages which were untrue, and we should discuss them afterwards, 
for that I had other books on the subject. ‘ Other books,’ said 
he, and he looked with an inquiring eye on those on the table. 
He continued reading until it was time to retire to rest, and 
then begged to take the book with him.” Christian Re¬ 
searches, p. 167 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


47 


among the mountains; and Dowlutabad, a fortress 
formed of one isolated mass of granite, and of im¬ 
pregnable strength, are among the remarkable places 
of this province. But the objects which have chiefly 
attracted the curiosity of Europeans are the cavern- 
temples of Elora, probably natural caves in the rock, 
enlarged by art and formed into structures of vast 
height and dimensions, upon the face of which the 
principal divinities of the Hindoo Pantheon, with ele¬ 
phants, giants, and the symbols of the Brahminical 
worship, are sculptured 42 . At present, however, these 
extensive subterraneous temples, upon which such 
prodigious expense and labour were once bestowed, 
are for some cause or another neglected by the natives, 
who neither maintain priests there, nor visit them in 
pilgrimage. 

To this province belongs the island of Bombay, 
situated in the eighteenth degree of north latitude. 
Bombay, once denominated the “ Grave of Euro¬ 
peans,” but now no longer unhealthy, lies exactly op¬ 
posite the mouth of the Goper river, and commands 
a distant view of the lofty mountains of the Dekkan. 
The harbour is among the most commodious in the 
world, its admirable anchoring ground being protected 
by the land from every wind that blows. Though lying 
within the tropics, the climate of this island is seldom 
oppressively hot, the alternation of the land and sea 
breezes keeping up an almost perpetual freshness in 
the air; but the night-dews are copious, cold, and 
prejudicial to health. The former insalubrity of Bom¬ 
bay has been attributed to the cocoa-nut woods, 
which once covered the greater part of the island 43 ; 
but though in tropical climates it be not healthy to 

42 Captain Seeley’s Wonders of Elora, &c.; Asiatic Re¬ 
searches, vol. vi. p. 389—425. 

43 Malte-Brun, vol. iii. p. 159. 


48 


THE HINDOOS. 


dwell in groves, whether of cocoa-nut or any other 
trees, the malaria of Bombay arose from other causes ; 
the chief of which was the peculiar nature of ma¬ 
nure used to fertilize the soil, consisting of the small 
fry of a certain kind of fish, abounding in the neigh¬ 
bouring sea, which was laid in trenches round the 
roots of the trees. This mass of animal matter, pu- 
trifying rapidly, exhaled a mephitic vapour, which 
was destructive of human life 44 . 

The dry season continues at Bombay for about 
eight months; and a tremendous thunder-storm 45 , 
called the “ Elephanta,” from its force and violence, 
usually announces the setting in of the rainy season, 
which is here regarded as the most agreeable portion 
of the year, and lasts from the end of May to the be¬ 
ginning of September. The innumerable moist ex¬ 
halations ascending from the earth at the conclusion 
of the rains deeply taint the air, and render it un¬ 
wholesome ; and the inhabitants migrate at such pe¬ 
riods to their upper apartments, where the effects of 
the malaria are less sensibly felt 46 . 

On the north of Bombay lies the larger island of 
Salsette, inhabited by a singularly wild race, who 
employ themselves in burning charcoal, but are 
scarcely at all known to Europeans 4? . This island, 
formerly separated from Bombay by a narrow strait, 
but now connected with it by a causeway, is about 
eighteen miles in length, by about thirteen in breadth; 
and, though at present uncultivated and covered with 
jungle, possesses a fertile soil, and was at some re¬ 
mote period a place of considerable importance, a 
fact amply attested by the remains of tanks, terraces, 
and flights of steps, together with extraordinary 

44 Grose’s Voyage to the East Indies, p. 49. 

45 Ibid. p. 93, 54. 4 « Ibid. p. 53, 54. 

47 Bishop Heber’s Journal, vol. iii. p. 87. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


49 


cavern-temples, covered with sculpture, which are 
found upon the island 4B . 

The province of Guzerat, three hundred and twenty 
miles in length, and one hundred and eighty in breadth, 
is bounded on the south by Aurungabad, on the east 
by Khandeish and Malwah, on the north byAjmere, 
and on the west by Cutch, the ocean, and a part of 
Mooltan. Guzerat, a large portion of the interior of 
which is covered with hills and jungle, is watered by 
noble and important rivers, as the Nerbudda, the 
Tuptee, and the Sabermatty; and its sea-coast is 
crowded with small islands, and indented with nu¬ 
merous creeks. A considerable portion of the province 
is, however, destitute of water, or is only supplied 
with it by means of very deep wells. The country 
appears more than usually level at a distant view; 
but on a nearer approach it is found to be greatly in¬ 
tersected by natural chasms and by the beds of rain- 
torrents, that sometimes increase to the magnitude of 
rivers, on the banks of which ferries are established to 
float the passengers across in rafts or boats. The 
soil upon the whole is fertile, though little improved. 

Among the principal natural productions of Guzerat 49 

48 Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 171. 

49 Forbes, who had spent the better part of his life in this 
province, thus describes its aspect and harvests: — “ In that 
delightful part of Hindoostan there are no ‘ antres vast, or de¬ 
serts idle,’ all is fertility and plenty; the soil, generally rich and 
loamy, produces valuable harvests of batty, juarree,badjeree, and 
other grain; with cotton shrubs for oil, and plants for dyeing. 
Many parts yield a double crop, particularly the rice and cotton 
fields, which are both planted at the commencement of the rainy 
season in June. The former is sown in furrows, and reaped in 
about three months. The cotton shrub, which grows to the 
height of three or four feet, and in verdure resembles the 
currant bush, requiresa longer time to bring its delicate produce 
to perfection. They are planted between the rows of rice, but 
do not impede its growth, or prevent its being reaped. Soon 
after the rice harvest is over, the cotton bushes put forth a beau- 

VOL. I. F 


50 


THE HINDOOS, 


are horses, excellent bullocks, and draught cattle,hemp, 
indigo, and opium, in the use of which the natives of 
the northern districts indulge to excess. In all waste 
lands, more particularly towards the frontiers of Mal- 
wah and Ajmere, are found numerous groves of 
babool trees, from the trunk and branches of which 
there exudes a species of gum, which among the 
Bheels and other wild inhabitants of the hills and 
jungles, forms an important article of food. Thick 
rows of this tree, planted round farm-yards and vil¬ 
lages, serve, with their thorny and almost impervious 
branches, as an excellent defence against all wild 
beasts, except the lion, which, according to Hamilton, 
here abounds in the woods ; though Forbes, who long 
resided in the country, asserts that this terrible animal 
is no longer known in Guzerat. The villages in the 
cultivated and fertile districts are populous, and gene¬ 
rally surrounded by groves of orange and tamarind 
trees, overshadowing the wells and tanks. Rows of 
bamboos sometimes replace those of the babool as a 
village rampart, and are said to be no less efficient. 

The peninsula of Guzerat, two hundred miles in 
length, by about one hundred and forty in breadth, 
extends from the 21st to the 23d degree of north 
latitude. It projects between the gulfs of Cutch and 
Cambay into the Indian Ocean; and numerous rivers 
taking rise in its elevated centre, after enriching and 
beautifying the country, fall on every side into the sea. 
One of these, the Ajee, is remarkable for the gold- 
dust which is sometimes found in its bed. The larger 

tiful yellow flower, with a crimson eye in each petal; this is 
succeeded by a green pod filled with a white stringy pulp ; the 
pod turns brown and hard as it ripens, and then separates into 
two or three divisions containing the cotton. A luxuriant field, 
exhibiting at the same time the expanding blossom, the bursting 
capsule, and the snowy flakes of ripe cotton, is one of the most 
beautiful objects in the agriculture of Hindoostan.” Orient. 
Mem. vol, ii. p. 405, 406. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


51 


rivers receive a great number of tributary streams 
and rivulets, by which the whole peninsula is to an 
extraordinary degree intersected. Several of these 
have poetical names, such as the RoopaRote , “ Silver 
Waves the Phooljer, “ Studded with flowers;” and 
the Nagne, “ Serpentineand while their waters 
are clear and excellent, their banks occasionally 
present picturesque scenes of romantic beauty. 

The principal cities of Guzerat are Baroche, Baroda, 
Cambay, Ahmedabad, the ancient, and Surat, the 
modern capital. 

The province of Cutch, one hundred and forty 
miles in length, by about ninety-five in breadth, is 
bounded on the east by Guzerat, on the north and 
west by Ajmere and Mooltan, and on the south by 
the gulf of Cutch and the Indian Ocean; and consists 
of two remarkably distinct portions, the one an im¬ 
mense salt morass called the Runn , the other an 
irregular hilly country completely insulated between 
the Runn and the sea. This latter division is de¬ 
ficient neither in fertility nor verdure, and whenever 
industry is unrepressed by the tyranny of the govern¬ 
ment, is sufficiently productive. “ Throughout the 
interior it is studded with hills of considerable eleva¬ 
tion, mostly covered with jungle, where the petty 
chiefs erect their strong holds and dens, and from 
whence they look down on, protect, or plunder the 
intervening valleys. The principal towns are Bhooj, 
Mandavie, Anjar, Tharra, Cuntcote, and Cutarra. 
There are many mountain streams, but no navigable 
rivers ; and all along the coast of the Runn, the wells 
and springs are more or less impregnated with com¬ 
mon salt, and other saline ingredients 50 .” In ge¬ 
neral, however, there is a deficiency of water, and the 
productions of Cutch have consequently never been 


60 Hamilton, Description, &c. vol. i. p. 585, 586. 


52 


THE HINDOOS. 


equal to the consumption of its inhabitants. Mines 
of coal and iron have been recently discovered 

The Runn, which forms the second division of 
Cutch, is a vast salt morass, the total superficies of 
which may be estimated at eight thousand square 
miles. Commencing at the extremity of the gulf of 
Cutch, of which it would appear to have been at 
one time a continuation, it sweeps round the whole 
northern frontier of the province, to the vicinity of 
Lacpat Bander, on the Sankra or eastern branch 
of the Indus. Like the Bahr 51 Faraouni, or Lake 
Tritonis, near the Lesser Syrtis, this prodigious fen 
may be traversed in certain directions, while in others 
its plashy or tremulous surface, yielding to the 
slightest pressure, presents insurmountable obstacles 
to the passage of caravans or armies. Though for 
the most part barren and uncultivated, the appear¬ 
ance of the Runn is distinguished in the dry season 
by an extraordinary variety of phenomena. Dimi¬ 
nutive lakes of shallow water, long ridges of barren 
sand, patches of verdant pasturage, fields susceptible 
of cultivation, and extensive sheets of saline incrusta¬ 
tions, which in many places resemble a fresh fall of 
snow, alternate with each other, and render this morass 
one of the most striking and extraordinary spots in the 
world. Here the serdb , or “ false water of the 
desert” (mirage), exhibits, during the dry season, 
its most magnificent illusions. The stunted saline 
shrubs and bushes are magnified to the size of lofty 
forest trees, waving, separating and uniting again; 
armies seem to march over the flat; peaceful hamlets, 
shady groves, pasties with embattled towers, rise, dis¬ 
appear and reappear in rapid succession on the 
salt bed of the morass, deluding or terrifying the 
way-worn solitary traveller. During the monsoons, 

51 D<-. Shaw’s Travels, 4to. p. 126. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


53 


or when tne wind blows up the gulf, the whole of this 
immense plain is inundated, and resembles an arm 
of the sea; and on the retiring* of the waters, myriads 
of dead prawns, mullets, and other fish, are seen 
strewed over the surface of the mud. On the physi¬ 
cal agents engaged in the formation of the Runn 
opinions are various, some supposing it to be effected 
by the overflowing of the Loni, while others, with 
more probability, regard it as the bed of a gulf, 
which, by some convulsion of nature, has been raised 
above the level of the ocean. The accumulated de¬ 
posits of soil brought down perpetually by the rivers 
will probably at no distant period exclude the waters 
entirely, the Loni here performing the part which 
the Nile has so successfully performed in Egypt. On 
the banks and in the small oases of the Runn, the 
wild ass exists in untameable fierceness, breeding in 
the wastes, and issuing forth in droves in the months 
of November and December, when the brackish and 
stunted vegetation of the desert is exhausted, to 
ravage the corn-fields in the plains. Apes, porcu¬ 
pines, and vast flights of large birds constitute, with 
the wild ass, the sole inhabitants of this dreary and 
desolate region 52 . 

At a distance of about fifty miles from where the 
Loni falls into the Runn of Cutch, about the lati¬ 
tude of 24° 30' it sends off* numerous branches, which 
pursue a meandering course through a valley, and 
again form a junction with the river before entering 
the Runn. The portion of the country under irriga¬ 
tion from these rivers is called Nueyur. It ig fertile 
in wheat, very populous as compared with the neigh- 

52 Colonel Tod, Annals of Rajast’han, vol .i. p. 17, 18; 
Fifteen Years in India, p. 349—352. Lieutenant Burnes’s 
Memoir on the Eastern Branch of the River Indus and the 
Runn, in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, 
vol. iii, p. 550—588. 

F 3 


54 


THE HINDOOS. 


bouring countries, and studded with villages. The 
district is subject to the Raja of Joodpoor 53 . 

The district of Parkur, situated under the twenty- 
fourth degree of north latitude, and near the seventy- 
first of east longitude, is nearly enclosed on all sides 
in the Runn. It is now ruled by two Rajpoot 
chieftains, but its possession has often been a source 
of contention between the surrounding governments. 
There is no river or running stream in this district; 
but-water and pastures are abundant, and the inha¬ 
bitants subsist by tending herds and flocks, with 
which they wander from one place to another, as 
their wants can be most readily supplied 54 . 

Bhooj, the capital of Cutch, is a strong but irre¬ 
gular fortress, surrounded by a wall, flanked with 
round and square towers, defended by heavy artillery. 
Within, each house is a fort, standing in a lofty in¬ 
closure of stone, terraced, provided with loop-holes, 
and generally enfilading the streets and approaches. 
Even the villages are fortified, and though they might 
not present very formidable obstacles to a regular 
army and artillery train, are impregnable to the im¬ 
petuous but undisciplined forces of the natives 55 . 

The province of Mooltan, which, in making the 
circuit of the empire, follows next after Cutch, is 
bounded on the north by Lahore, on the east by the 
great desert of Ajmere, on the west by the course of 
the Indus, and on the south by the Indian Ocean. 
Its greatest length falls little short of six hundred 
miles, and in breadth it varies from seventy to about 
one hundred and fifty mi es. Within these limits are 
contained Bahawulpoor, Bhakar Sinde, Tatta, and 

53 Burnes, in the Journal of Royal Geographical Society, vol. 
iv.p. 102—106. 

34 See Lieutenant Burnes, in the Journal of the Royal 
Geographical Society, vol. iv. p. 92—102. 

55 Hamilton, vol. i. p. 585—595. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA 


55 


C’balchkaun. The soil in general throughout Mool- 
tan is arid, sandy, and barren, strongly impregnated 
with saline particles, and producing nothing beyond 
a few stunted bushes, sufficiently hardy to withstand 
the influence of the soil. The heat is excessive, and 
seldom mitigated by refreshing showers or breezes, 
as it does not rain above three or four times in the 
year. But in the vicinity of the villages, which are 
said to be numerous 60 , wells and artificial irrigation 
maintain a certain degree of fertility, and clothe the 
fields with cotton, wheat, and other grain. The 
camel 67 , which nature has bestowed on desert regions 

56 TiefFenthaler, tom. i. p. 115—120; Hamilton, vol.i. p. 556. 

57 Volney has described, with his usual felicity, the structure 
and uses of the camel, without whose aid many parts of the 
earth would be uninhabitable : — “ No creature seems so pecu¬ 
liarly fitted to the climate in which it exists; we cannot doubt 
but the nature of the one has been adapted to that of the 
other by some disposing intelligence. Designing the camel to 
dwell in a country where he can find little nourishment, Nature 
has been sparing of her materials in the whole of his forma 
tion. She has not bestowed on him the plump fleshiness of 
the ox, horse, or elephant; but limiting herself to what is 
strictly necessary, she has given him a small head without ears, 
at the end of a long neck without flesh. She has taken from 
his legs and thighs every muscle not immediately requisite for 
motion, and in short has bestowed on his withered body only 
the vessels and tendons necessary to connect its frame together. 
She has furnished him with a strong jaw, that he may grind 
the hardest aliments; but, lest he should consume too much, 
she has contracted his stomach, and obliged him to chew the 
cud. She has lined his foot with a lump of flesh, which sliding 
in the mud, and being no way adapted to climbing, fits him 
only for a dry level and sandy soil, like that of Arabia: she 
has evidently designed him likewise to slavery, by refusing him 
every sort of defence against his enemies. Destitute of the 
horns of the bull, the hoof of the horse, the tusk of the ele¬ 
phant, and the swiftness of the stag, how can the camel resist 
or avoid the attacks of the lion, the tiger, or even of the wolf? 
To preserve the species, therefore, Nature has concealed him in 
the depth of the vast deserts, where the want of vegetables 
can attract no game, and whence the want of game repels 


56 


THE HINDOOS. 


in lieu of fertility, to be the companion and friend of 
man, whose life it sustains, abounds in Mooltan, which 
likewise possesses an excellent breed of horses, and 
a species of long-tailed sheep. The northern portion 
of the province bordering upon the Panjab, and within 
reach of the periodical inundations, is blessed with a 
high degree of fertility. The principality of Baha- 
wulpoor, which, for a certain distance, includes both 
banks of the Indus, the Jhylum, and the Chenab, is 
in many parts rich, fertile, and highly cultivated; in 
others covered with low groves of tamarisk trees, 
which abound with wild boars, hog, deer, wild geese, 
partridges, and floricans. The Doab Bhakar, like 
the western frontier of Egypt, has for many centuries 
been gradually deteriorating by the encroachment of 
the desert, by which it must ere long be swallowed 
up, unless the progress of desolation be timely checked 
by man. The principality of Sinde, including Tatta, 
is by far the most important division of Mooltan. It 
at present includes both banks of the Indus, to the 
east of which the whole country, excepting two or 
three low hills, is as level as the sea. The district of 
Chandookee, around which the waters of the Indus 

every voracious animal.’ Tyranny must have expelled man 
from the habitable parts of the earth, before the camel could 
have lost his liberty. Become domestic, he has rendered habi¬ 
table the most barren soil the world contains. He alone sup¬ 
plies all his master’s wants. The milk of the camel nourishes 
the family of the Arab, under the varied forms of curds, cheese, 
and butter; and they often feed upon his flesh. Slippers and 
harness are made of his skin, andtents and clothing of his hair. 
Heavy burdens are transported by his means; and when the 
earth denies forage to the horse, so valuable to the Bedouin, the 
she camel supplies that deficiency by her milk, at no other cost, 
for so many advantages, than a few stalks of brambles or worm¬ 
wood, and pounded date kernels. So great is the importance 
of the camel to the desert, that were it deprived of that useful 
animal, it must infallibly lose every inhabitant.” Vol.i. p. 388— 
390. 


PROVIDES OF INDIA. 


57 


flow in two great branches, is exceedingly rich and 
highly cultivated, and, notwithstanding the despotism 
of the government, yields a considerable revenue. 
The climate of Sinde, like that of most dry and 
barren countries, is pure and healthy, and the heats 
of summer are mitigated by cooling breezes from the 
west. In the Delta of the Indus, however, the cli¬ 
mate is sultry and trying to the human constitution, 
the thermometer ranging as high as 90° in March. 
The most remarkable towns in Sinde are Tatta, 
Hyderabad, Sehwun, and Bukkur. The principal 
sea-port, is Curachee. Chalkhaun, the least known 
division of Mooltan, was, until very recently, sup¬ 
posed to be a mere sandy desert; but our conquests 
in Guzerat have at length enabled us to dissipate 
this opinion ; for though aridity be the general cha¬ 
racteristic of the soil, there are numerous cultivated 
spots, upon which many hardy and warlike tribes 
subsist in savage independence. 

The city of Mooltan, which is supposed to be the 
Malli of Alexander’s historians, stands in latitude thirty 
degrees north, four miles from the left banks of the 
Chenab. It is enclosed by a fine wall forty or fifty 
feet in height, and strengthened at regular distances 
with towers. It has also a citadel erected on an 
eminence, and several remarkable tombs. From 
its vicinity, the mountains of Afghanistan, distant 
between seventy and eighty miles, are sometimes 
visible. Mooltan is celebrated for its silks and car¬ 
pets, though the latter are inferior to those of Persia; 
and the surrounding country, cultivated like a garden, 
and sprinkled with groves of neem , date, and peepul 
trees, presents a rich and highly varied landscape. 

The province of Lahore is bounded on the south 
by Mooltan, Ajmere, and Delhi; on the east by the 
northern mountains of Hindoostan; on the north by 
Cashmere; and on the west by the waters of the 


58 


THE HINDOOS. 


Indus, which divide it from Afghanistan. Lahore 
consists of two nearly equal portions, extremely dis¬ 
similar in their nature : the Kohistan, or mountainous 
tract, which occupies the whole of the north-eastern 
division of the province; and the Panjab 58 , or great 
plain of the Five Rivers, which extends from the foot 
of the Himalaya to the Indus. The climate is liable 
to great vicissitudes ; the heat of summer, more par¬ 
ticularly in the hollows and undulating sandy plains 
of the Panj&b, being almost equal in intensity to 
what is experienced on the shores of the Persian 
Gulf 59 , where the whole atmosphere glows like a 

68 Malte-Brun, following I know not what authorities, has erro¬ 
neously applied the name of the Panjab to the whole province 
of Lahore. Precis de Geographie Universelle, tom. iv. p. 46. 

59 Bernier, when accompanying the Court of Aurungzebe into 
Cashmere, experienced the full effects of a Panj&b summer: — 
“ As their motions were slow, they were overtaken in those 
burning hollows, which condensed and reflected back the rays 
of the sun like a vast burning-glass, by the heats of summer, 
which are there little less intense than on the shores of the 
Persian Gulf. No sooner had the sun appeared above the 
horizon than the heat became insupportable. Not a cloud 
stained the firmament, not a breath of air stood upon the 
earth. Every herb was scorched to cinders; and throughout 
the wide horizon nothing appeared but an interminable plain of 
dust below, and above a brazen or coppery sky, glowing like 
the "mouth of a furnace. The horses, languid and worn out, 
could scarcely drag their limbs along; the very Hindoos them¬ 
selves, who seemed designed to revel in sunshine, began to 
droop, and our traveller, who had braved the climate of Egypt, 
and the Arabian deserts, writing from the camp, on the tenth 
day of their march from Lahore, exclaims — ‘ My whole face, 
hands, and feet are flayed, and my whole body is covered with 
small red pustules, which prick like needles. Yesterday one of our 
horsemen, who happened to have no tent, was found dead at the 
foot of a tree, which he had grasped in his last agonies. I 
doubt whether I shall be able to hold out till night. All my 
hopes rest on a little curds which I steep in water, and a little 
sugar, with four or five lemons. The very ink is dried up at 
the point of my pen, and the pen itself drops from my hand- 
adieu.’ ’ ’ Lives of celebrated Travellers. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


59 


furnace; while the northern division experiences in 
winter a degree of cold little inferior to that of the 
central countries of Europe. In these districts the 
landscape also has an European aspect, for the 
margins of the brooks and torrents are fringed with 
willows, while dark woods of pine trees hang over 
the beetling cliffs, and cover the solitary recesses of 
the mountains. The natives, though ignorant of the 
method of extracting turpentine and tar from the 
pine, employ slips of its resinous wood as lamps. 
Fruit and vegetables are rare, the climate being too 
hot for the productions of Persia, and yet too cold to 
bring those of India to maturity. Large beds of 
fossil salt are found in many districts, and the country 
is supposed to abound in rich mines. The cultivated 
portion of the northern division of Lahore consists, 
as in the coffee mountains of Yemen, of small flats, 
which, commencing at the summit of the hills, pro¬ 
ject at intervals one below another, like a range of 
semi-circular stairs. These fertile terraces are per¬ 
petually enriched by the periodical rains, which wash 
down the lighter and finer particles of soil from the 
summit of the mountains, and the accumulating mass 
is preserved from sliding down the steep by vast 
buttresses of loose stones. In the narrow valleys 
which separate the hills, rice is cultivated, but not in 
great quantities. 

The principality of Jessulmere, one of the Rajpoot 
states, is comprised between 25—28° north latitude, 
and 69—72° east longitude. It occupies a space of 
about twenty thousand square miles. It is barren 
and unproductive, with little arable land, and better 
suited for pasture than agriculture ; but neither herds 
nor flocks are ibundant, Jessulmere has no rivers, 
and the periodical rains are scanty and uncertain. 
The city of Jessulmere is handsome, and has about 


60 


THE HINDOOS. 


twenty thousand inhabitants; the country is thinly 
peopled, and the revenues are inconsiderable. 

Joodpoor, or Marwar, is the most extensive of the 
Rajpoot principalities, and one of the largest do¬ 
minions now ruled by any native prince in India. 
The territory is situated between 70° and 75° E. 
long, and 24° and 28° N. lat., occupying about 
seventy thousand square miles. The country is rich 
in valuable productions of the mineral and vegetable 
kingdom, and well peopled. The bulk of the 
population consists of Rajpoots; next to them in 
number are the Ghats, a tawny and powerful race of 
men, originally from Bicaneer and the countries 
westward of Delhi. The country is intersected by 
torrents, which are dry in the fair season, but run 
with violence in the rains. Great quantities of wheat 
are exported to Aj mere, Bicaneer, &c. The present 
Raja of Joodpoor is Man Singh, who can trace the 
history of his ancestors back to the early part of the 
twelfth century : his revenues are considerable. The 
city of Joodpoor, the capital, is estimated at about 
fifty thousand inhabitants 60 . 

By far the most productive portion of Lahore is 
the Panjab, or “region of the five rivers,” though 
even of this division the riches and fertility have been 
greatly exaggerated. Excepting in the vicinity of the 
great rivers the soil is sandy, and in a great degree 
destitute of the nourishing principle. East of the 
Jhylum, or Hydaspes, the country, a flat or wavy 
plain, is chiefly appropriated to pasturage, and sup¬ 
ports numerous herds of oxen ana buffaloes; while on 
the plain, lying to the west, between the Jhylum and 
the Indus, immense droves of horses are pastured. 
There are few trees. Amritsir, the holy city of the 

60 Burnes, in the Journal of the Royal Geogr. Soc. vol. iv- 
p. 105—129. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


61 


Sikhs, is situated between the rivers Setlej and Ravee. 
Lahore, the capital, stands on the southern bank of 
the Ravee, or Hydraotes, which is here about three 
hundred yards broad. The great road, shaded by a 
double row of plantain trees, leading from Delhi to 
Persia and Samarkand, passes through Lahore, which, 
though fallen from its ancient splendour, still contains 
many spacious buildings and magnificent gardens. 
The ancient palace of the Mogul emperors, constructed 
of brick and faced with red granite, is one of the most 
superb edifices in the world. Viewed from the op¬ 
posite bank of the river, with its magnificent facade, 
surrounded by parterres of all the rich and varied 
flowers of India, which here flourish in eternal spring, 
it rivals the hanging gardens of Babylon or the fairy 
creations of the Arabian Nights. The interior of 
this vast structure is adorned with beautiful red gra¬ 
nite, porphyry, lapis lazuli, and gold. Of all its 
numerous apartments, however, the most admired is 
the hall of the throne, the roof and walls of which 
are covered with mirrors of rock crystal, while along 
the gallery, which surrounds it, there runs a trellis- 
work of massive gold, with bunches of artificial fruit 
composed of pearls and jewels. In another chamber 
there is a bath of oriental agate in the form of a 
boat, and encircled with bands of gold. This bath, 
which will contain eight hogsheads, was used in the 
time of the Mogul sovereigns to be filled with rose¬ 
water 61 . About two miles north of Lahore stands 
the celebrated mausoleum of Jehanghir, which, though 
inferior to the Taj Mahal at Agra, is nevertheless a 
structure of striking magnificence. 

The province of Cashmere, comprehended between 
the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth degrees of north 
latitude, is surrounded by two ranges of the Indian 

61 Legoux de Flaix, Essais, tom. 1 . p. 147. 

G 


VOL. 1. 


62 


THE HINDOOS. 


Caucasus, which, after diverging' considerably, and 
embracing the whole extent of the valley, again unite 
and become one. It is bounded on the north by 
Little Tibet, on the east by Ladhak, on the south 
by Lahore, and on the west by Pukhely; and, in¬ 
cluding the mountains, is about one hundred and ten 
miles in length by about sixty in breadth. The 
traditions of the Hindoos respecting the formation of 
this beautiful valley greatly resemble those which 
prevailed among the Greeks about that of Thes¬ 
saly ; both being said to have been originally a lake 
enclosed by lofty mountains, which having been rent 
by the agency of earthquakes, suffered the waters 
to escape. Whatever was its origin, the Indian 
Tempe, though vaunted by less renowned poets, is 
no -way inferior in fertility or beauty to the Thessalian. 
Fields clothed with eternal green, and sprinkled thick 
with violets, roses, narcissuses, and other delicate 
or fragrant flowers, which here grow wild, meet the 
eye on all sides; while, to divide or diversify them, 
a number of small streams of crystal purity, and 
several lakes of various dimensions, glide or sparkle 
in the foreground of the landscape. On all sides 
round arise a range of low green hills, dotted with 
trees, and affording a delicious herbage to the gazelle 
and .other graminivorous animals; while the pin¬ 
nacles of the Himalaya, pointed, jagged, and broken 
into a thousand fantastic forms, rear their snowy 
heads behind, and pierce beyond the clouds. From 
these unscaleable heights, amidst which the ima¬ 
gination of the Hindoo has placed his heaven, ever 
bright and luminous, innumerable small rivulets 
descend into the valley, and, after rushing in slender 
cataracts over projecting rocks, and peopling the 
uplands with noise and foam, submit to the direction 
of the husbandman, and spread themselves in artificial 
inundations over the fields and gardens below. These 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


63 


numerous mountain torrents, which unite into one 
stream before they issue from the valley, may be 
regarded as the sources of the Jhylum, one of the 
mightiest rivers of Hindoostan. The beauty and 
fertility of Cashmere are equalled by the mildness 
and salubrity of the climate. Here the southern 
slopes of the hills are clothed with the fruits and 
flowers of Hindoostan ; but pass the summit, and 
you find upon the opposite side the productions of the 
temperate zone and the features of an European 
landscape. The fancy of Bernier, escaping from the 
curb of his philosophy, ran riot among these hills, 
which, with their cows, their goats, their gazelles, and 
their innumerable bees, might, like the promised land, 
be said to flow with milk and honey. 

“ The inhabitants of this terrestrial paradise, who 
were as beautiful as their climate, possessed, in the 
time of Bernier, the reputation of being superior in 
genius and industry to the rest of the Hindoos. 
The arts and sciences flourished among them, and 
their manufactures of palanquins, bedsteads, coffers, 
cabinets, spoons, and inlaid-work, were renowned 
throughout the East. But the fabric which tended 
most powerfully to diffuse their reputation for in¬ 
genuity were their shawls : those soft and exquisite 
articles of dress, which, from that day to this, have 
enjoyed the patronage of the fair throughout the 
world 62 .” 

No traveller ever enjoyed a more favourable op¬ 
portunity than Bernier of examining Cashmere. 
Attached to the train of Aurungzebe, every place was 
open to his curiosity, and his taste and habits led him 
carefully to scrutinize whatever came within the range 
of his observation. 

62 Lives of celebrated Travellers, vol. i. p. 210, 211. I 
have here preferred quoting what I had written elsewhere to 
the useless task of repeating the same thing in different words. 


64 


THE HINDOOS 


“ During the three months which he spent in this 
beautiful country he made several excursions to the 
surrounding mountains, where, amidst the wildest 
and most majestic scenery, he beheld with wonder 
the natural succession of generation and decay. At 
the bottom of many precipitous abysses, whither man’s 
foot had never descended, he saw many enormous 
trunks hurled down by time, and heaped upon each 
other in decay; while at their foot, or beneath their 
crumbling branches, young ones were shooting up 
and flourishing. Some of the trees were scorched 
and burnt, either blasted by the thunderbolt, or, ac¬ 
cording to the traditions of the peasantry, set on fire 
during the heat of summer by rubbing against each 
other when agitated by fierce burning winds. 

“ The court, having visited Cashmere from motives 
of pleasure, were determined to taste every species of 
it which the country could supply ; the wild and 
sublime which must be sought with toil and difficulty, 
as well as those more ordinary ones which lay strewed 
like flowers upon the earth. The emperor accordingly, 
or at least his harem, ascended the lower range of 
hills to enjoy the prospect of abyss and precipice, 
impending woods, dusky and horrible, and streams 
rushing forth from their dark wombs, and leaping 
with thundering and impetuous fury over cliffs of 
prodigious elevation. One of these small cataracts 
appeared to Bernier the most perfect thing of its 
kind in the world ; and Jehanghir, who passed many 
years in Cashmere, had caused a neighbouring rock, 
from which it could be contemplated to most advan¬ 
tage, to be levelled, in order to behold it at his ease. 
Here a kind of theatre was raised by Aurungzebe for 
the accommodation of his court; and there they sat 
viewing with wondering delight this sublime work 
of nature, surpassing in grandeur, and by the emotions 
to which it gave birth, all the wonders of man’s hand. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


b5 


In this instance the stream was beheld at a conside¬ 
rable distance rolling along its weight of waters down 
the slope of the mountain, through a sombre channel 
overhung with trees. Arriving at the edge of the 
rock the whole stream projected itself forward, and 
curving round in its descent, like the neck of a war- 
horse, plunged into the gulf below with deafeningand 
incessant thunder 63 .” 

Moorcroft, whose remarks on the natural pro¬ 
ductions and agriculture of Cashmere have recently 
been published in the Journal of the Royal Geogra¬ 
phical Society, concurs in the opinion that Cashmere 
has been formerly one immense lake, and he observes 
that the subsidence of its waters is distinctly defined 
by horizontal lines on the face of the mountain. The 
nature of the composition of the highest and primitive 
mountains which form the great outer belt of the 
valley, Moorcroft had not an opportunity to examine ; 
but the rocks of the interior he found to be of second¬ 
ary formation, and consisting to a great extent wholly 
of indurated clay. “ The bottom of the basin,” he 
says, “ is covered with a deep coat of alluvial clay, 
which, in its progress towards the surface, is mixed 
with vegetable earth; and the latter, under very 
slight labour, breaks down into a rich and most pro¬ 
ductive mould 64 .” 

From Cashmere, which is, in fact, an isolated spot, 
we proceed across the interjacent district of Kohistan 
to the small province denominated Setlej and Jumna, 
from the two great rivers between which it is situated. 
This province forms a portion of that Alpine country 
which, by Indian geographers, is named Northern 
Hindoostan, and extends in a waving parallelogram, 
slanting to the south, from longitude 77°, a little to 
the west of the Setlej, to the river Teesta, in longi- 

63 Lives of celebrated Travellers, vol. i. p. 212, 213. 

64 Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. ii. p. 253. 

G 3 


66 


THE HINDOOS. 


tude 88° 30' E., beyond which, among the mountains, 
the Lama doctrines prevail. The division of this 
country which, for brevity, I shall denominate the 
Province of the Jumna, is bounded on the north by 
the Himalaya mountains, on the west by the Setlej, 
on the south by Delhi, and on the east by the Jumna 
river. It may be estimated at about ninety miles in 
length by about sixty in breadth ; and is divided into 
four principalities, twelve lordships, and fourteen 
petty chiefships 65 . 

The province of Gurwal or Serinagur 66 , the next 

65 Hamilton’s Description of Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 602. 

66 Captain Raper, who visited these countries during his 
survey of the Ganges, gives the following sketch of the valley 
of Serinagur:—“ On taking a view of Serinagur from a height, 
it has the appearance of a double valley; one situated on a 
level with the river, the other on its hanks, elevated about forty 
or fifty feet, and extending along the base of the mountain. 
The lower one, in which the city stands, has apparently been 
formed by the receding of the Alacananda from the south shore; 
and although the period be too remote to ascertain the fact, the 
appearance of the ridge or bank, marking the concavity, would 
incline one to suppose that such has been the case; and that 
in its present progressive inclination it is gradually returning to 
its former channel. From the bottom of the upper valley to 
the city is a space of three or four furlongs laid out in small 
fields and inclosures, with a few mango trees thinly scattered 
among them. Opposite to the city the Alacananda divides into 
two or three streams, which reunite about one mile below. On 
one of the small islands are the ruins of buildings which were 
formerly connected with the city. The aspect of the surround¬ 
ing mountains is very barren; here or there a solitary tree may 
be seen, but the general features betray a rocky and unfriendly 
soil; and the little vegetation that is produced upon them is 
soon parched up and dried. On the opposite side of the river 
several hamlets are seen situated along the foot of the hills, with 
which a communication is open by a Ihula to the west, and a 
ferry-boat to the east of the city. One of the largest of these 
villages is called Rani Hat’t, containing a temple sacred to 
Raja Iswara, at whose shrine some rites are performed in 
imitation of the mysteries observed in the temple of the Cyprian 
goddess.” Asiat. Res. vol. xi p. 503. 


PROVINCES 0/ INDIA. 


67 


division of Northern Hindoostan, is bounded on the 
west by the Jumna ; on the north by the Himalaya ; 
on the east by the Dauli, Alacananda, and Ramganga 
rivers, which separate it from Nepal; and on the south 
by the great plain of the Ganges. The character and 
aspect of the country are thus described by Hamilton: 
—“ To the southward, towards Lolldong, the whole 
face of this country is an assemblage of hills, jumbled 
together in many forms and directions ; sometimes in 
chains running parallel to each other, and of no 
great extent, and often connected at their termination 
by narrow ridges, running across the valleys at right 
angles. The summits of these are usually narrow 
and of various shapes, and the distance between each 
range short; the valleys in consequence are so con¬ 
fined that in many parts it would be difficult to find 
a spot large enough to accommodate a corps of one 
thousand men. Some of these ranges are covered 
with trees and always green; others are naked and 
stony, affording shelter for neither birds nor beasts. 
On the eastern borders of these provinces, among the 
lower ranges of mountains, are extensive forests of 
oak, holly, horse-chesnut, and fir; and beds of straw¬ 
berries are also seen, equalling in flavour those of 
Europe. From Lolldong to the Ganges the country 
forms, with very little interruption, a continued chain 
of woody hills, which extend eastward to an undefined 
extent. In these forests the elephant abounds, but 
greatly inferior in size and quality to the Chittagong 
elephant, on which account it is seldom domesticated. 
On the eastern borders there are hill pheasants 
among the mountains, but they keep near the sum¬ 
mit, and seldom venture into the valleys unless com¬ 
pelled by heavy falls of snow. Indeed but a small 
part of this extensive country is either populated or 
cultivated, a great proportion of its surface being left 
in undisturbed possession of the wild animals 67 .” 
description of Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 633, 634. 


68 


THE HINDOOS. 


The kingdom of Nep&l, the most extensive and im¬ 
portant province of Northern Hindoostan, is bounded 
on the north by the Himalaya 08 mountains, which 

68 Of this country there is a curious account giyen in 
the Asiatic Researches, written by Father Giuseppe, Prefect 
of the Roman Mission. “ Although the road,” says he, 
describing the entrance into Nepal, “ be very inconvenient 
and narrow for three or four days at the passes of the hills, 
where it is necessary to cross and recross the river more than 
fifty times, yet on reaching the interior mountain before you 
descend, you have an agreeable prospect of the extensive plain 
of Nepal, resembling an amphitheatre, covered with populous 
towns and villages. The circumference of the plain is about 
two hundred miles, a little irregular and surrounded by hills on 
all sides, so that no person can enter or come out of it without 
passing the mountains. There are three principal cities in the 
plain, each of which was the capital of an independent king¬ 
dom ; the principal city of the three is situated to the north¬ 
wards of the plain, and is called Cat’hmandoo ; it contains 
about eighteen thousand houses ; and this kingdom, from south 
to north, extends to the distance of twelve or thirteen days’ 
journey, as far as the borders of Tibet, and is almost as extensive 
from east to west. Besides these three principal cities there 
are many other large and less considerable towns and fortresses; 
one of them is Timi and another Cipoli, each of which contains 
about eight thousand houses and is very populous. All these 
towns, both great and small, are well built; the houses are 
constructed of brick, and are three or four stories high ; their 
apartments are not lofty; they have doors and windows of 
wood, well worked, and arranged with great regularity. The 
streets of all their towns are paved with brick or stone, with a 
regular declivity to carry off the water. In almost every street 
of the capital towns there are also good wells made of stone, 
from which the water passes through several stone canals for 
the public benefit. In every town there are large square 
verandahs, well built for the accommodation of travellers and 
the public. These verandahs are called Pali; and there are 
also many of them, as well as wells, in different parts of the 
country, for public use. There are also on the outside of the 
great towns small square reservoirs of water, faced with brick, 
with a good road to walk upon, and a large flight of steps for 
the convenience of those who choose to bathe. A piece of water 
of this kind, on the outside of the city of Cat’hmandoo, was at 
least two hundred feet long on each side of the square, and 
every part of its workmanship had a good appearance.” Asiatic 
Researches, vol. ii. p. 307, &c. The two principal works on 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


69 


separate it from Tibet; on the west by Kumaoon; 
on the south by Delhi, Oude, Bahar, and Bengal; 
and on the east by the principality of Sikkim. Its 
extreme length may be estimated at four hundred and 
sixty, and its breadth at one hundred and fifteen miles. 
This singular country consists of three parallel belts, 
of which the first, about twenty miles in breadth, is a 
portion of the Gangetic plain. Next succeeds a 
region of nearly the same width, consisting of a series 
of small hills rising behind each other like a succession 
of terraces, until the more elevated gradually unite 
with the more lofty mountains of the Himalaya. 
Through the rocky valleys or chasms which separate 
these hills, numerous streams, springing from the 
southern faces of the mountains, descend and spread 
fertility and verdure throughout the country. Mag¬ 
nificent forests of saul (Shorea robusta), mingled with 
sisoo (Dalbergia sisoo) and toon (Cedrela toona) trees, 
stretch along the declivities of the minor eminences 
for a considerable distance into the adjacent plains. 
As you ascend, the forests exhibit a greater variety, 
gradually putting on more and more of Alpine features, 
as the sombre pine mingles more freely with the 
mimosa and other trees of the plain. Parrots, parro- 
quets, and many other species of birds, abound in 
these woods, and are caught and taught to speak by 
the natives, who export them into Bengal, as the in¬ 
habitants of the Tyrol export Canary birds to all parts 
of Europe. Between the hills and the Himalaya fine 
cultivated valleys are sometimes met with; but, though 
fertile, they are generally neglected on account of their 
extreme unhealthiness. Some of these wild glens 
produce rattans and bamboos of enormous dimen¬ 
sions; in others nothing but pines and oaks ar** 

this country are Kirkpatrick’s Account of the Kingdom of 
Nepal, London, 1811, 4to.; and Francis Hamilton’s Account 
of the Kingdom of Nep&l, Edinburgh, 1819, 4to. 


70 


THE HINDOOS. 


found, while a third class ripen the pine-apple and 
the sugar-cane. Others again produce barley, millet, 
and many similar grains. Peaches grow wild by every 
rill, but never ripen; and the vines, requiring more 
care than is bestowed upon them, produce but inferior 
grapes. But the orange, which ripens in winter, is 
found in the greatest perfection in Nepal. Ginger, 
cardamoms, and grain of every kind are abundant, 
Cat’hmandoo, the capital, stands on the east bank of 
the Bishenmutty, four thousand seven hundred and 
eighty-four feet above the plains of Bengal. It is of 
inconsiderable extent. The most remarkable objects 
it contains are a great number of wooden temples, 
which, as well as those constructed of brick, appear 
to be in the Chinese style of architecture, with three 
or four sloping roofs. None but the priests and 
princes are admitted within the shrine. The houses 
are three or four stories high, an indication that 
earthquakes are not frequent; and the streets, which 
are exceedingly narrow, rival those of Benares in 
filth. The population may amount to about twenty 
thousand. 

The principality of Sikkim, a small and little ex¬ 
plored province, lying between Nepal and Bhotan, is 
situated entirely among the hills; and its productions, 
both vegetable and mineral, entirely resemble those 
of Nepal. “ According to native authorities,” says 
Hamilton, “there are on the Konki two marts, named 
Bilasi and Majhoya, to which the traders from the 
plains carry rice, salt, extract of sugar-cane, hogs, dry 
fish, tobacco, spirituous liquors, and various cloths. 
Before the Ghorkha conquest they also took oxen 
for the slaughter; but that tribe, being Hindoos, 
prohibited such sacrilege. The traders procured in 
return from the mountaineers cotton, Indian madder, 
musk, and Tibet cow and bull tails. At Dimali, on 
the Balakongyar river, there is a mart or custom™ 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


71 


house, consisting of a square surrounded by build¬ 
ings, into which the merchants and their commodities 
are received, there being no other dwellings except 
those of the collector and his assistants. To this place 
the dealers from the low-country take up salt, to¬ 
bacco, cotton cloths, goats, fowls, swine, iron, and 
occasionally broad-cloth; and in return bring back 
mungeet or Indian rubber, cotton, bees’ wax, blan¬ 
kets, horses, musk, cow and bull tails, Chinese flow¬ 
ered silk, and rhinoceroses’ horns 69 .” 

The city of Sikkim stands on the west bank of the 
Jamikuma river, which rises on the south side of the 
Snowy Mountains, and, opposite to the town, sepa¬ 
rates into two branches, that flow round an immense 
mountain, upon the summit of which there is a strong 
hold named Tasidong. 

The river Tista, which comes from the mountains 
in about 88° 32' E. long, from Greenwich, divides Sik¬ 
kim from the territory of Bhotan, a mountainous tract, 
situated like Nep&l on the southern declivity of the 
Himalaya chain; the highest part of which separates 
it from Tibet and the Chinese empire. The country 
is about two hundred and forty English miles in 
length, from E. to W.; the width of Bhotan Proper 
does not probably exceed forty or fifty miles. South 
from that is a hilly, but lower tract of perhaps ten or 
fifteen miles in width, which is occupied by Cachharis, 
Mech, and other rude tribes ; and south from thence is 
a plain, which in different parts varies from ten to 
twenty miles in width, and which is chiefly occupied 
by Cocli or Rajbangsis. The inhabitants, called 
Bhoteas, are Buddhists. A person who is considered 
as an incarnation of God, and who is named Dharma 
Raja, is their nominal head, but the government is 
carried on by the Deva-Raja, his vicegerent. 

Assam is situated towards the south-east of Bhotan, 
and borders towards the south-west on Bengal, and 
09 Description of Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 270, 271. 


72 


THE HINDOOS. 


towards the east and south-east on China and the 
Burmese empire. It is traversed by the Brahmaputra. 
The extent of the territory of Assam, towards the 
north of this river, is about two hundred and eleven 
miles in length, and from twenty to thirty miles in 
width. On the south side of the Brahmaputra, the 
length of Assam is only aboutone hundred and seventy- 
tour, and its width from twenty-five to forty miles. The 
island of Majuli, formed by the Brahmaputra and 
Dihing rivers, which is about one hundred and thirty 
miles long, and ten or fifteen wide, also belongs to 
Assam. The principal towns are Rangpoor and 
Gohati. Gold is found in the sand at the junction of 
the river Donsirior Donhiri with the Brahmaputra 70 . 

Having thus made the circuit of Hindoostan, I 
proceed to describe the central regions, commencing 
with the imperial province of Delhi. Bounded on 
the west by Ajmere and Lahore, on the north by La¬ 
hore and Northern Hindoostan, on the east by Oude, 
and on the south by Agra, its greatest length may 
be estimated at two hundred and forty, and its 
breadth at one hundred and eighty miles. The 
northern districts, overrun with forests and jungles, 
are thinly peopled; and the land, though fertile, but 
indifferently cultivated. Though naturally inferior to 
Agra in fertility, the low lands produce, when pro¬ 
perly irrigated, three crops of rice in the year; in¬ 
deed no portion of Hindoostan seems more suscept¬ 
ible of improvement by irrigation, and it has by a 
very judicious author been thought probable that an 
immense extent of moving sand, now abandoned to 
drought and barrenness, and menacing the surround¬ 
ing regions with desolation, might be again brought 
into cultivation. Numerous canals and streams, 
which formerly traversed the northern districts of 
Delhi, and, among the rest, the great river Saraswati, 

70 See Dr. Francis Hamilton's Account of Assam, in the 
Annals of Oriental Literature, p. 193—278. 




'"Hill. 






Page 70. Jumna Musjeed, Delhi 






































































































































































































































































































































































































































































PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


73 


have long ceased to flow ; though, with little compa¬ 
rative labour or expense, these rivers might be again 
conducted into their ancient channels, and made to 
diffuse fertility and wealth over the province. Com¬ 
pared with Bengal and the Company’s old provinces, 
Delhi is but thinly peopled, says Hamilton, its inha¬ 
bitants probably not exceeding eight millions. 

The city of Delhi, the Indraprast’ha of the Hindoos, 
is situated on the banks of the Jumna, in lat. 28° 41' 
N., long. 77° 5' E. During the era of its splendour, 
it is said to have covered a space of twenty square 
miles, and in fact its ruins are at this day very little 
less in extent. What its population may have amounted 
to, when it was the capital of the Mogul empire, 
cannot now be ascertained 71 . Hamilton is of opinion 
that the number does not exceed two hundred thou¬ 
sand. The modern city contains many magnificent 
ruins, and a great number of mosques still in good 
preservation; of which the principal is the Jumna 
Musjeed, erected by the Emperor Shah Jehan. But 
the great ornament of Delhi is the imperial palace, 
constructed of red granite, in a beautiful style of ar 
chitecture. Its interior is adorned with gold, azure, 
and other splendid ornaments. The stables were 
erected to contain ten thousand horses. In the vast 
suburbs of Delhi, among other striking buildings, is 

71 In the time of Bernier, Delhi was doubtless a magnificent 
city. “ Whatever Asia could furnish of barbaric pomp or gor¬ 
geous show, was there collected together, and disposed with as 
much taste as Mogul or Persian art could give birth to. Domes 
of vast circumference and fantastic swell crowned the summits of 
the mosques, and towered above the other structures of the city; 
palaces, cool, airy, , grotesque, with twisted pillars, balustrades 
of silver, and roofs of fretted gold; elephants moving their 
awkward and cumbrous bulk to and fro, disguised in glitter¬ 
ing housings, and surmounted with golden howdahs; and gar¬ 
dens shaded and perfumed by the most splendid trees and sweet¬ 
est flowers of Asia: such were the principal features of Delhi.* 
Lives of celebrated Travellers, vol. i. p. 204. 

VOL. I. 


H 


74 


THE HINDOOS. 


the Goda'ie Kotelar , the principal apartment of which, 
called the “ Hall of Embassies,” was lined through¬ 
out with crystal, and adorned with a lustre of black 
crystal, exquisitely wrought, which, when lighted up, 
caused the apartment to present on all sides the ap¬ 
pearance of a conflagration. In this hall a peacock 
throne was still preserved in the time of Legoux de 
Flaix 72 , wholly different from that described by Ber¬ 
nier, and which was carried away by Nadir Shah 7S . 
It was of an oval form, and placed under a palm-tree, 
which overshadowed it with its foliage. A peacock 
perched upon a branch near the summit, extended its 
wings like a canopy over the throne. Both the palm- 
tree and the peacock were of gold, and the wings and 
leaves so delicately and exquisitely formed, that they 
appeared to wave and tremble at the slightest breeze. 
The rich green of the peacock’s feathers was repre¬ 
sented by superb emeralds ; and the fruit of the 
palm-tree, formed of brilliant Golconda diamonds, 
mimicked nature so admirably, that the observer 
might easily have been tempted to pluck them. 

The gardens of the Shalimar, a mile in circumfe- 

72 Essais sur l’lndoustan, tom. i. p. 193. 

73 u II y avait,” says the historian of Nadir, “ entre aulres 
(tresors) un trdne en forme de paon, qui sembloit renfermer 
tons les tresors de Kaikavus et les richesses de Dekianous, et 
dont les joyaux dans les temps des anciens empereurs des 
Indes etoient evalues a deux crores, chaque crore (selon la 
computation Indienne) valant cent mille lacs, et chaque lac 
cent mille roupies. II y avoient de plus des perles si parfaites 
et des diamaus si brillans, qu’on n’avait jamais vu de sem- 
blables dans les tresors d’aucun monarque du monde; et le 
tout fut transportedans celui de Nadir Chah.” Works of Sir 
William Jones, vol. ix. p. 459. “ The throne was supported 
upon six large feet of massive gold, set with rubies, emeralds, 
and diamonds. But its principal ornaments were two peacocks, 
whose feathers were imitated by a crest of pearls and jewels. 
The real value of this throne could not be exactly ascertained, 
but it was estimated at four crores, or forty millions of rupees.’ 
Lives of celebrated Travellers, vol. i. p. 202. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


75 


rence, formed by Shah Jehan at an expense of one 
million sterling, are now, like all his other works, in 
ruins; and from these the view southward, as far as 
the eye can reach, is covered with the wreck of 
mosques, pavilions, and tombs, all desolate and de¬ 
cayed. About nine miles south of Delhi stands the 
Kuttub Minar, a remarkable column, two hundred 
and forty-two feet high. Four balconies sweep round 
the pillar at different heights from the ground, and an 
irregular spiral staircase leads to the summit, which 
is crowned with a majestic cupola of red granite. 
It seems to have been intended as a minaret to a 
stupendous mosque never completed, and was erected 
about six hundred years ago by the Afghan emperor 
Kuttub Shah, whose tomb, a humble and inconsider¬ 
able building 74 , stands a few hundred yards to the 
west of it. Kuttub Shah died in a. d. 1210. 

Oude, one of the smallest provinces of Hindoostan 
Proper, is bounded on the west by Delhi and Agra, 
on the north by Nepal, on the east by Bahar, and on 
the south by Allahabad. “ The whole surface of this 
province is level, and exceedingly well watered by 
large rivers, or by copious streams which intersect the 
country, flowing nearly all in a south-east direction. 
When properly cultivated the land is extremely pro¬ 
ductive, yielding crops of wheat, barley, rice, and 
other grains, sugar-canes, indigo, poppies for opium, 
and all the richer articles raised in India. The air 
and climate are suited to the spontaneous generation 
of nitre, from the brine of which an inferior culinary 
salt is procured, by evaporating the saltpetre brine to 
a certain degree, which, although at first much conta¬ 
minated by bitter salt, may be easily refined to a 

74 Asiatic Researches, vol. iv. p. 223—228. Tieffenthaler 
speaks of the tomb as that of “ a Mohammedan hypocrite,” 
tom. i. 132. Bishop Heber, describing the Kuttub Minar, 
observes, “ it is really the finest tower I have ever seen, and 
must, when its spire was complete, have been still more beauti¬ 
ful.” Narrative, &c. vol. ii. p. 307. 


THE HINDOOS, 


•6 

purer state. Lapis lazmi is also a production of 
this province, the colour procured from which sells in 
England at about nine guineas per ounce 75 .” 

Lucknow, the modern capital, stands on the south 
bank of the Goomty. Its narrow filthy streets, in which 
two carts cannot pass each other, are sunk, in the 
quarter inhabited by the lower orders, at least ten or 
twelve feet below the level of the soil. The houses are 
of clay and of mean appearance, and every nook and 
angle swarms with beggars. In the better part of tne 
city, however, there are some fine streets, handsome 
houses, and well-filled bazaars; and the palaces of the 
Nawab, the tombs and principal mosques, constructed 
in a highly ornamental style of architecture, with gilded 
roofs, display considerable splendour. “ The Imambar 
or cathedral,” says Bishop Heber, “ consists of two 
courts rising with a steep ascent one above the other. 
It contains, besides a splendid mosque, a college for 
instruction in Musulman law, apartments for the 
religious establishment maintained there, and a noble 
gallery, in the midst of which, under a brilliant taber¬ 
nacle of silver, cut glass, and precious stones, lie 
buried the remains of its founder, Assuf-ud-Dowlah. 
The whole is in a very noble style of eastern Gothic, 
and when taken in conjunction with the Roumi Dur- 
wazu, which adjoins it, of which I add a sketch 
from memory, I have never seen an architectural 
view which pleased me more from its richness and 
variety, as well as the proportions and general good 
taste of its principal features 76 .” 

Oude, (in Sanscrit, Ayodhya), the ancient capital 
of the great Rama, situated on the banks of the 
Goggra, though now reduced to a shapeless heap ot 
ruins, is still the resort of numerous pilgrims, who 
walk round the supposed sites of the temples, bathe 

Hamilton, Description, &c. vol.i. p.338. 

78 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. ii. p. 51, 52 ; Hamiltou 
roJ. i. p. 347. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA 


77 


in the holy pools, and perform the customary cere¬ 
monies. Valmiki, the great epic poet of Hindoo- 
stan 77 , has, as Colonel Tod remarks, converted this 
city into an Utopia; but, however exaggerated, his 
description may be supposed to have borne some re¬ 
semblance to the original. “ On the banks of the 
Sarayu,” says he, “ is a large country called Kosala, 
in which is Ayodhya, built by Menu, twelve yojanas 
(forty-eight miles) in extent, with streets regular arid 
well watered. It is filled by merchants, beautified 
with gardens, ornamented with stately gates and high 
arched porticos, furnished with arms, crowded with 
chariots, elephants, and horses ; and with ambassa¬ 
dors from foreign lands; embellished with palaces, 
whose domes resemble the mountain-tops, dwellings 
of equal height, resounding with the delightful music 
of the tabor, the flute, and harp. It was surrounded 
by an impassable moat, and guarded by archers. 
Dasarat’ha was its king, a mighty charioteer. There 
were no atheists. The affections of the men were 
in their consorts. The women were chaste and obe¬ 
dient to their lords, endowed with beauty, wit, sweet¬ 
ness, prudence, and industry, With bright ornaments, 
and fair apparel; the men devoted to truth and hos¬ 
pitality; regardful of their superiors, their ancestry, 
and their gods 78 .” 

77 See R&mayana, book i. ch. 5. 

78 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 38, note. Abul Fazl, who 
loves to repeat the legends of antiquity, observes that “ in 
ancient times, this city is said to have measured one 
hundred and forty-eight coss in length, and thirty-six coss 
in breadth. It is esteemed one of the most sacred places 
of antiquity. Upon sifting the earth which is round 
the city, small grains of gold are sometimes obtained from 
it. In the Treta-Yuga, this city was the residence of 
Raja Ramchund, who enjoyed the two-fold office of king and 
prophet. At the distance of a coss from the city, the river 
Gogra unites with the Sy, which confluence runs at the foot of 
the fort.” Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 32, 33. 


78 


THE HINDOOS. 


The province of Bahar is bounded on the west by 
Allahabad and Oude, on the north by Nepal, on the 
east by Bengal, and on the south by Gundwana. With 
the exception of a few mountainous districts, the whole 
of this extensive province is a plain, as fertile, highly 
cultivated, and populous as any in Hindoostan. It 
possesses great natural advantages ; a temperate cli¬ 
mate, abundant water for irrigation, and a geogra¬ 
phical position which renders it the thoroughfare for 
the commerce of Bengal, and of foreign maritime 
countries, with the upper provinces of India. In 
several districts a parching west wind generally pre¬ 
vails during the hot season: it blows however only 
by day, being succeeded at night by a cool breeze 
from the east. During the winter a blighting frost 
is sometimes experienced. Opium 79 is the staple 

79 Of this narcotic vast quantities are manufactured in India. 
The following is the manner in which the poppy is cultivated. 

The poppy (papaver somniferum) is plentifully cultivated both 
for making opium and on account of the seed, which is much 
used in the sweet cakes that are eaten by the higher ranks of 
the natives. In Aswaja (19th September to ISth October) dig 
the ground one cubit deep. In the following month smooth 
the ground, and divide it into small plots of three cubits square, 
separated from each other by small banks, like those of rice- 
fields, but neater and lower, and at the same time form chan¬ 
nels winding through the plots, so that every one may have a 
channel running past one of its sides. By this method any 
quantity of water which the plant requires is very readily con¬ 
veyed to the whole. When the channels and squares are 
formed, the garden is dunged, and the poppy-seed sown. Over 
this is sprinkled a little more dung. At every span’s length, 
two seeds of the cossumba are then planted on the small mounds 
which separate the squares; or in place of cossumba , ra¬ 
dishes are sometimes raised. Water is then given to every 
square, and once in four days this is repeated. After the 
plants have acquired strength, no preference is given to any 
particular time of the day for watering; but while they are 
very young, the morning is preferred. In six or seven days 
the poppies will be two inches high; and then the gardener 
with a shell removes those that are superfluous, so as to leave 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


75 


commodity of the country. Saltpetre, cotton cloths, 
sugar, betel-leaf, attar, and a variety of other flower- 
essences are also exported from Bahar. The princi 
pal cities of the province are Patna, which now ex¬ 
ceeds both Delhi and Agra in extent and population; 
Bahar the ancient, and Gaya the modern capital. 
The last-named city is divided into two very distinct 
portions ; the old town, standing on an eminence, in¬ 
habited by the priests; and the new town, situated 
upon a plain, which is the residence of the laity. 
Here, according to the European taste, the streets 
are perfectly straight and kept in good order, though 
unpaved, having a row of trees and a footway on 
each side, with an excellent carriage-way in the 
centre. The old town is a strange-looking place. 
The houses, constructed of stone or brick, two or 
three stories high, are built in a very picturesque 
style of architecture, with corners, turrets, and gal- 

them four inches apart. In twenty days they are about six 
inches high; the weeds must then be removed with a small 
hoe, and a very little dung must be given. In two months 
and a half the poppy is ready for making opium, and in three 
months the seed is ripe. It is not injured by extracting the 
opium, which operation is performed by the gardeners, who 
sell the produce to the drug-merchant. When the poppies 
are ripe, the fruit is scratched with a thorn, and the juice that 
exudes, after it has thickened by exposure to the air, is scraped 
off with a shell, and seems to be very good opium.” Buchanan, 
i. 295; iii. 444. As it dries it is formed into lumps, which 
are wrapped up in coverings made of the flower-leaves of the 
poppy, joined together by placing them, while fresh, on a hot 
earthen pot. Some women earn a subsistence by preparing 
the.^e coverings, which are sent to the factory ready joined. 
In the evening each capsule of the poppy, as it attains the 
proper degree of maturity, has a slight incision made in its 
whole length: and next morning what opium has exuded is 
collected. After two or three days, another incision is made 
at some distance from the first; and according to the size of the 
capsule it admits of being cut from three to five times; but 
the crop seasons last six weeks, as the capsules advance at 
different periods. Hamilton, vol. i. p. 242. 


80 


THE HINDOOS. 


Series projecting in the most irregular and fantastic 
manner. 

The province of Allahabad, two hundred and 
seventy miles in length, by one hundred and twenty 
in breadth, is bounded on the north by Oude and a 
portion of Agra, on the east by Bahar, on the south 
by Gundwana, and on the west by Malwah and Agra. 
Traversed in its whole extent by the Ganges, and in 
great part by the Jumna, which, being navigable, 
may be considered its great high roads, Allahabad is 
upon the whole one of the most productive pro¬ 
vinces of Hindoostan. The Bundelkund territory, 
which occupies the south-western portion of the pro¬ 
vince, is an elevated table-land, diversified with high 
hills, in which are the strong-holds of numerous 
chiefs. This division possesses but few rivers : the 
Kena and Gogra are the principal. Agriculture 
therefore here depends wholly upon the periodical 
rains and upon wells. But to compensate for its in¬ 
ferior fertility, Bundelkund contains within its limits 
the celebrated diamond-mines of Pannah. The po¬ 
pulation of Allahabad, which is remarkably dense, is 
supposed to exceed seven millions. 

Pannah, the capital of the diamond district, sup¬ 
posed to be the Panassa of Ptolemy, stands on a 
barren rocky plain, above the Ghauts, and it still an 
extensive place. It is adorned with several handsome 
temples, in one of which there is an idol with a 
diamond eye of immense brilliancy and value. The 
whole of the table-land for several miles round the 
city is said to abound with diamonds. The soil, from 
two to eight cubits in depth, is in some places of a 
red, in others of a brown colour, and where the dia¬ 
monds are found, contains many small pebbles. The 
greater number of the stones do not exceed a pea in 
size, though occasionally they are found as large as 
filberts. The workmen, who are generally Rajpoots, 















w v . , ; ~ V 

N 


«•% 








•- 

r r 













































- 








. 































-r 0 '’ 

»# 







»* 





























j „ :% 

V * 











































































a 









# •• *• 


■ 4 ' 


■->1 «. 








. 



i* 





















. - ‘ 'V i . . 

. .-. 














# 














Pa § e City of Agra. 




















































































































































































































































































































PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


81 


amount on ail average to about a thousand. Accord¬ 
ing to their experience, it would seem that the gene¬ 
ration of the diamond is here going on perpetually, 
and that fourteen or fifteen years is the term required 
by nature for completing the process; for they assert 
that they have as much chance of success in examining 
earth which has lain undisturbed during that period as 
in turning up fresh soil. 

The province of Agra is about two hundred and 
fifty miles in length, by about one hundred and eighty 
in breadth. It is bounded on the north by the pro¬ 
vince of Delhi, on the east by Oude and Allahabad, 
on the south by Malwah, and on the west by Aj- 
mere. North-east of the Jumna the surface of the 
country is in general flat, open, and bare of trees, 
but towards the western frontier and south of the 
Chumbul it is more hilly, and covered with jungle. 
The climate is generally temperate, and during the 
winter considerable cold is experienced; but, like the 
other central regions of India, it is occasionally visited 
by hot noxious winds. Water is rather scanty through¬ 
out the whole of Agra, particularly towards the western 
frontier and to the north of the Chumbul, where, ex¬ 
cept in the vicinity of the large rivers, it can only be 
procured from wells. 

The imperial city of Agra, the ancient Mogul 
capital of Hindoostan, once renowned for its extent 
and magnificence, is now falling into decay. From 
the minaret of Akbar’s mausoleum at Secundra, six 
miles north of the city, which commands a view of 
the whole circumjacent country for a distance of thirty 
miles, the traveller’s eye may take in the entire scene 
of desolation at once. The whole plain is covered 
with the. ruins of ancient grandeur 80 ; and in the 

80 This city was the birth-place of Abul Fazl, who thus 
speaks of its extent q,nd magnificence. “ The river Jumna 
runs through it for five coss, and on both sides are delightful 


82 


THE HINDOOS. 


distance are seen the mighty Jumna, half a mile 
broad, and the glittering towers of Agra 81 . The city 
rises on the banks of the river in the form of a vast 
semicircle, commanded by the immense fortress, which 
includes the imperial palace. This palace, which has 
been denominated one of the finest edifices in Asia, 
was erected by the emperor Akbar. Like the city it 
is iu the form of a crescent, and stands on the edge 
of the river, with a terrace in front, reaching down to 
the water’s edge: here, during the flourishing days 
of Agra, pleasure boats and barges were unceasingly 
pouring forth their motley crews. The great square 
of the palace, planted with rows of plantain trees, and 
surrounded by a beautiful gallery, was adorned by six 
triumphal arches, which served as the entrances to six 
noble streets. Along the fa9ade of the palace ran two 
immense galleries, adorned with twenty-four columns 
of white marble, springing from pedestals of blue 
granite, and terminating in capitals of yellow mica. 
Of the interior, as it exists at present, Bishop Heber 
says, “ The hall, now used as the Dewanny Aum, or 
public court of justice, is a splendid edifice, supported 
by pillars and arches of white marble, as large and 
more nobly simple than that of Delhi. The orna¬ 
ments, carving, and mosaic of the smaller rooms, 

houses and gardens, inhabited by people of all nations, and 
where are displayed the productions of every climate. His 
majesty has erected a fort of red stone, the like of which no 
traveller has ever beheld. It contains alone five hundred stone 
buildings of surprising construction, in the Bengal, Guzerat, 
and other styles; and the artificers have decorated them with 
beautiful paintings. At the eastern gate are carved in stone 
two elephants with their riders, of exquisite workmanship. In 
former times Agra was a village dependant upon Byaneh, 
where Sultan Secunder Lowdy kept his court. Here his ma¬ 
jesty has founded a most magnificent city.” Ayeen Akbery, 
vol. ii. p. 36. 

81 Hamilton estimates the population of Agra at less than 
sixty thousand souls, vol. i. p. 365. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


83 


in which was formerly the zenanah , or ladies’ apart¬ 
ment, are equal or superior to any thing which is 
described as found in the Alhambra. The view from 
these rooms is very fine ; at the same time that there 
are some adapted for the hot winds, from which light 
is carefully excluded. This suite is lined with small 
mirrors in fantastic frames ; a cascade of water, also 
surrounded with mirrors, has been made to gush from 
a recess at the upper end, and marble channels, beau¬ 
tifully inlaid with cornelians, agates, and jaspers, 
convey the stream to every side of the apartment 82 .” 

The great province of Ajmere, or Rajast’han, is 
bounded on the north by Lahore, on the east by 
Delhi and Agra, on the south by Malwah and Gu- 
zerat, and on the west by Mooltan. It is about 
three hundred and fifty miles in length, and about 
two hundred miles upon an average in breadth. 
Rajast’han is the collective and classical denomina¬ 
tion of that portion of India which is “ the abode of 
princes.” Its surface is exceedingly varied. Let 
us, with Colonel Tod, suppose ourselves upon the 
summit of Mount Aboo (which, after the Himalaya, 
is one of the most elevated spots in Hindoostan), and 
glance our eye from the blue waters of the Indus on 
the west, to the withy-covered Betwah on the east. 
Looking in this latter direction, we have before us 
the chain of the Aravulli hills, stretching north and 
south throughout the whole length of Rajpootana, 
from the Vindhya mountains to the confines of Delhi, 
and dividing Mewar and the other mountainous dis¬ 
tricts of eastern Ajmere, from Marwar and the 
sandy deserts of the west. The Aravulli mountains, 
which, for scenes of savage grandeur, rival or sur¬ 
pass the western Ghauts, repose upon a basis of 
nearly sixty miles in breadth, and afford shelter in 
their inexpugnable fastnesses to numerous wild abo¬ 
riginal tribes, who, from time immemorial, have here 
82 Narrative, &c. vol. ii. p. 338. 


84 


THE HINDOOS. 


maintained a fierce independence and primitive sim¬ 
plicity of manners. 

“ The general character of the Aravulli is its pri¬ 
mitive formation ; granite reposing in variety of angle 
(the general dip is to the east) on massive, compact, 
dark blue slate, the latter rarely appearing much 
above the surface or base of the superincumbent 
granite. The internal valleys abound in variegated 
quartz and a variety of schistus slate of every hue, 
which gives a most singular appearance to the roofs 
of the houses and temples when the sun shines upon 
them. Rocks of gneiss and of sienite appear in the 
intervals; and in the diverging ridges, west of Ajmere, 
the summits are quite dazzling with the enormous 
masses of vitreous rose-coloured quartz.’’ Mines of 
copper and tin, the latter yielding a large portion of 
silver, abound. From the Aravulli, eastward, the 
country is a lofty table-land, or rather a succession 
of steppes, resembling those of Tartary. At Rin- 
thumboor the plateau breaks into lofty ranges, their 
whole summits sparkling in the sun; cragged, but not 
peaked, and preserving the characteristic formation, 
though disunited from the mass. “Distinguished as 
is this elevated region in the surface of Central India, 
its summit is but little higher than the general ele¬ 
vation of the Vindhya, and upon a level with the 
valley of Oodipoor and base of the Aravulli. The 
slope or descent, therefore, from both these ranges to 
the skirts of the plateau is great and abrupt, of which 
the most intelligible and simple proof appears in the 
course of these streams. Few portions of the globe 
attest more powerfully the force exerted by the action 
of waters to subdue every obstacle than a view of the 
rock-bound channels of these streams in this ada¬ 
mantine barrier. Four streams—one of which, the 
Chumbul, would rank with the Rhine and almost 
with the Rhone—have here forced their way, laying 
bare the stratification from the water’s level to the 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


85 


summit, from three to six hundred feet in perpendi¬ 
cular height, the rock appearing as if chiselled by 
the hand of man. Here the geologist may read the 
book of nature in distinct characters ; few tracts (from 
Rampoora to Kotah) will be found to be more inte¬ 
resting to him, to the antiquary, or to the lover of 
nature in her most rugged attire 83 .” 

West of the Shakhavat frontier, and north of the 
salt river Loni, the whole of Ajmere is a sandy waste, 
which becomes more and more barren as you ap¬ 
proach the valley of the Indus. The states of Jod- 
poor and Jessulmere, some account of which was 
given above, are situated in this sandy plain. The 
last is every where encircled by the desert, and 
the fertile district which surrounds the capital, pro¬ 
ducing wheat, barley, and even rice, may be regarded 
as an oasis in the midst of desolation. Various 
other spots remarkable for their fertility are found 
scattered at wide intervals through the waste. Natron 
beds, salt lakes, and quarries of beautiful jasper 
also diversify these dismal plains, which the Hindoos 
significantly denominate the “ region of death 84 .’’ 

The province of Malwah, two hundred and twenty 
miles in length by about one hundred and fifty in 
breadth, is bounded on the north by Ajmere and 
Agra, on the east by Allahabad and Gundwana, on 
the south by Khandeish and Berar, and on the west 
by Ajmere and Guzerat. It forms a portion of the 
ofty plateau of Central India 85 , but, notwithstanding 
its elevation, surpasses all the adjacent provinces in 

83 Colonel Tod, Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 12—14. 

84 Until the publication of Colonel Tod’s Annals, the pro* 
vince of Ajmere was a kind of terra incognita; but the states 
which he has described are now or ought to be as well known 
as Bengal. It were to be wished that every part of India 
possessed so able and so interesting an historian. 

85 Sir John Malcolm. Memoir on Central India, vol. i. p. 20, 
514; Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 21, 189. 

VOL. I. I 


86 


THE HINDOOS. 


fertility, the soil being a rich black mould, producing 
cotton, opium, indigo, tobacco, and corn. Numerous 
herds of cattle are likewise pastured on the plains. 
The climate is temperate and favourable to the pro¬ 
duction of fruits. Malwah possessing no navigable 
rivers, all its commerce is conducted by land-carriage. 
Oojein (or Ujjayim), on the river Sipra, in this pro¬ 
vince, a city founded in the remotest antiquity, is 
celebrated in the Puranas, and mentioned in the 
‘ Periplus of the Erythraean Sea,’ as well as by Pto¬ 
lemy, under the name of Ozene. It was the first 
meridian of the Hindoo astronomers 86 . 

Khandeish, included within the limits of that por¬ 
tion of India which has been denominated the Dek- 
kan , or “ the south,” is bounded on the north by the 
course of the Nerbudda, which separates it from 
Malwah; on the west by Guzerat, on the south by 
Aurungabad and Berar, and on the east by Berar 
and Gundwana. It is two hundred and ten miles in 
length and eighty in breadth. Khandeish formed one 
of the original provinces of the Mahratta empire, and 
its broken, rocky, irregular surface is still thickly 
studded with fortresses. In the vicinity of the Taptee 
river the country is strangely intersected by deep 
wild ravines, which sometimes wind along for several 
miles. The highways frequently lead through the 

86 Hamilton’s Description, vol. i. p. 738. Abul Fazl, de¬ 
scribing Malwah, observes, “ The rivers Nerbudda, Supera (the 
SipraP), Kalisindh, Reem, and Lowdy flow through this soobah, 
and you cannot travel two or three coss without meeting with 
streams of good water, whose banks are shaded by the wild 
willow, and other trees ; and decorated with the hyacinth, and 
other beautiful and odoriferous flowers. Here are abundance of 
lakes, and verdant plains ornamented with innumerable mag¬ 
nificent and elegant buildings. The climate is so temperate, 
that in winter there is no occasion for warm clothing, nor is it 
necessary in summer to cool the water with saltpetre ; but in 
the four rainy months the night air is cold enough to render a 
quilt necessary.” Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 39, 40. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


87 


bottom of those chasms, where dense clouds of dust, 
whirled along by the wind, almost suffocate the tra¬ 
veller. 

The province of Berar is bounded on the north 
by Khandeish and Malwah, on the east by Gund- 
wana, and on the south and west by Beeder, 
Khandeish, and Aurangabad. It consists princi¬ 
pally of an elevated valley, to which you ascend by a 
chain of ghauts or mountain passes. Of these ghauts, 
the greater number are impassable for carriages, 
laden camels or bullocks, and many are mere path¬ 
ways leading over the hills. The high grounds are 
generally bare of trees. In the valley the soil, though 
badly cultivated, is naturally rich, spontaneously pro¬ 
ducing a fine grass. The principal productions of 
the cultivated districts are wheat, Indian corn, peas, 
vetches, and flax. 

Gundwana, one of the largest provinces of Hin- 
doostan, is bounded on the west by Khandeish, 
Berar, and Beeder; on the north by Bahar and 
Allahabad, on the east by Bahar and Orissa, and 
on the south by Orissa and Hyderabad. Its length 
may be estimated at about four hundred, and its 
breadth at nearly three hundred miles. A large 
portion of this province is mountainous, wild, barren, 
unhealthy, and, in consequence, thinly inhabited. 
Those districts which have remained in the posses¬ 
sion of the native Goands, are still, to borrow the 
words of Hamilton, a primeval wilderness. 

“ The country occupied by the native Goands re¬ 
mains for the most part a primeval wilderness, its 
human inhabitants being scarcely superior to the 
beasts with which they are intermixed. A great ma¬ 
jority of this miserable tribe exist merely in a state 
of nature, and are probably the lowest in the scale of 
civilization of all the natives of India. Having been 
driven by their invaders from the plains to the un- 


THE HINDOOS. 


ss 

wholesome fastnesses of the more elevated regions, 
they frequently descend during the harvest to the low 
lands, and plunder the produce of their ancient in¬ 
heritance. In the course of the last half century the 
increasing appetite of the wild Goands for salt and 
sugar, has tended more to promote their civilization 
than any other circumstance. The sea air is said to 
be as fatal to their temperament as that of the hill to 
the inhabitants of the adjoining plains. The Goands 
are Hindoos of the Brahminical sect, that sacred 
tribe having condescended to officiate as spiritual 
directors to some of their chiefs, but they retain many 
of their impure customs, and abstain from no flesh 
except that of the ox, cow, and bull 87 .” 

Beeder is bounded on the north by Aurungabad and 
Berar, on the east by Gundwana, on the south by 
Hyderabad, and on the west by Aurungabad and 
Beejapoor. The face of the country is hilly and un¬ 
even, and intersected by numerous small rivers which 
fertilize the soil. It was formerly, under the old 
Hindoo government, highly populous; but the days 
of its prosperity have long passed away, and, com¬ 
pared with the British provinces, it is now thinly 
inhabited. 

The province of Hyderabad, two hundred and eighty 
miles in length, by one hundred and ten in average 
breadth, is bounded on the north by Beeder, on the 
east by Gundwana, on the south by the Circars and 
Balaghaut, and on the west by Beeder and Beejapoor. 
It is an elevated table-land of very uneven surface, 
and the cold during three months of the year is consi¬ 
derable, the thermometer being frequently so low as 
forty-five or even thirty-five degrees of Fahrenheit, 
throughout the whole of that period. Though inter¬ 
sected by numerous streams and rivers, none of which, 
however, are navigable, the soil of Hyderabad is dry. 

87 Hamilton’s Description of India, vol. ii. p. 6, 7. 


PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


89 


Cultivation is repressed by misgovernment, and ruined 
towns, villages, and inclosures every where indicate 
the progress of despotism. Hyderabad, the capital 
of the Nizam’s dominions, formerly Baujnuggur, is 
an extensive and highly populous city. By old tra¬ 
vellers it was commonly denominated Golconda, from 
the fortress of that name erected in its neighbour¬ 
hood ; and in the time of Tavernier was famous for 
the beauty of its inhabitants. Golconda, once the 
capital of an extensive kingdom, and a celebrated 
diamond mart, is now principally used as a state 
prison 88 . 

The Balaghaut ceded Districts are bounded on 
the west and north by Beejapoor and Hyderabad, 
on the east by the Circars and the Carnatic, and on 
the south by Salem and the Mysore.. Its principal 
rivers are the Krishna and the Tumbudra. The soil 
is generally fertile, particularly the table-land, which, 
when properly brought into cultivation, requires but 
one ploughing in twenty years. Indeed the farmer in 
many cases ploughs his field but once during his life¬ 
time. This rich black mould contains no vestiges of 
decayed vegetation, but alternates abruptly with red 
soil, and is found among rocks where trees never 
could have existed. The rains are uncertain, but 
generally fall in September and October. The 
storms of war, which have often swept over this 
province, have destroyed its fine groves and woods, 
and rendered the planting of trees, particularly of 
palmyras, an indispensable duty of government. The 
general aspect of the country is rugged and wild, like 
the character of the inhabitants, a bold manly race, 
who for ages bravely maintained their independence 
with their sword. Upwards of fifty thousand wells, 
of which many thousand have been suffered to go 
08 Lives of celebrated Travellers, vol. i. p. 176 ; Hamilton, 
vol. ii. p. 141. 


90 


THE HINDOOS. 


out of repair, have been sunk in these districts, for 
purposes of irrigation. 

The Mysore, an extensive province of Southern 
India, two hundred and ten miles in length, by about 
one hundred and forty in breadth, is a lofty table¬ 
land, nearly three thousand feet above the level of the 
sea. This lofty plain is enclosed between the eastern 
and western Ghauts, which lean like so many vast 
buttresses against the plateau, and prevent its surface 
from sliding into the ocean. * No other country ot 
equal extent within the tropics enjoys so temperate 
and healthy a climate as the Mysore. The force of 
the monsoons which deluge the wastes of Coromandel 
and Malabar, is on both sides broken by the Ghauts; 
and the rain which falls is merely sufficient to clothe 
the fields in perpetual verdure, and preserve an agree¬ 
able temperature in the air. The principal produc¬ 
tions of this province are rice, raghi (Cynosurits 
corocanus ), sesamum orientale, the sugar-cane, and 
the castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis). Cocoa-nut 
trees are here so numerous that in many districts 
they resemble forests. Seringapatam, the modern 
capital, stands upon an island in the Cavery, which 
is here a large and rapid river. 

Salem, a small province of Southern India, at 
present comprehends within its jurisdiction the adja¬ 
cent territory of Barramahal. Placed on the summit 
of the table-land between the Ghauts, it enjoys, like 
the Mysore, a temperate and salubrious climate. The 
principal productions are Indian corn and rice, and 
there are generally two harvests in the year; the first 
in April, and the second in September. This province 
contains a large proportion of waste lands. 

The province of Coimbatore, likewise situated on 
the lofty table-land of the Dekkan, is about fifty miles 
in length and forty-five in breadth. Its remarkably 
undulated surface is in some places not more than 


PROVINCES OP INDIA. 


D1 


four or five hundred feet above the level of the sea, 
whilst iu others it rises prodigiously, the Cumbe- 
tarine hill being between five and six thousand feet 
above the same level. From Coimbatore the usual 
descent through the western Ghauts into Malabar, is 
by an extraordinary funnel-shaped pass, or opening 
between the mountains, which, being seven miles in 
breadth at its exit from the plateau, spreads con¬ 
tinually to the right and left for a distance of thirty- 
one miles, until upon meeting with the Malabar plain 
it presents a mouth of fifteen or sixteen miles in 
breadth. This opening affords the north-west and 
south-west winds a free passage from the coast into 
the interior. Coimbatore is watered by numerous 
rivers. Though including some marshes, wastes, 
and jungles, the soil is generally dry and fertile. 
During the first months of spring the dews are heavy, 
while thick white fogs enshroud the mountains, and 
hang upon the plains, until a late hour in the morn¬ 
ing. Here, as elsewhere in India, the hills are in 
many places haunted by malaria; but the climate 
in general, though hot, is not unhealthy. Imme¬ 
diately towards the north of the gap of Coimbatore is 
situated the group of the N eil Gherry (Nila Giri), or 
Blue Mountains, which form the southern extremity 
of the table-land of Mysore, and rise to an elevation 
of about nine thousand feet above the level of the 
sea. The climate of this high region is cool and 
delightful, and the vegetation is analogous to the 
Flora of Europe rather than to that of the tropical 
plains around it. The inhabitants are a peaceable 
and harmless race of men, who subsist partly on 
agriculture and partly on the tending of flocks and 
herds 89 . 

89 See Captain Harkness, Description of the Inhabitants of 
the Neil Gherry Hills; London, 1832, 8vo. 


92 


THE HINDOOS. 


The island of Ceylon, or Singhala, which, though 
divided by a considerable strait from the continent, 
once perhaps formed a continuation of it, seems to be 
necessarily included in a description of India. Its 
length is about two hundred and seventy, and its 
greatest breadth about one hundred and forty-fvve 
miles. Viewed from the sea, the south-eastern coast 
of Ceylon presents a picturesque aspect. Hills rise 
behind hills — some verdant and beautiful, others, 
like the Swiss Alps, huge, rocky, barren, and of 
extraordinary shapes, resembling ancient castles, 
ruined battlements, and pyramids of great altitude. 
From this rocky mountainous barrier which Ceylon 
presents to the Indian Ocean, and which occupies a 
large extent of territory, the surface of the island, as 
you proceed northward, sinks gradually into extensive 
plains, in which, excepting the Trincomalee hills, 
there are no elevations exceeding three hundred feet 
above the level of the sea. Ceylon is watered by 
numerous rivers, and, although so near the equator, 
is not subject to excessive heats, the air being con¬ 
stantly refreshed by breezes from the sea. These, 
however, are prevented by lofty mountains from 
penetrating into the interior, where consequently the 
atmosphere is inflamed and stagnant, except when 
disturbed by casual currents of wind. A succession 
of cocoa-nut gardens covers a large portion of the 
southern shore, while on the northern parts of the 
island, contiguous to the Coromandel coast, the 
beautiful palmyra adorns the landscape. Ceylon 
produces cardamoms, coffee, areca-nuts, tobacco, and 
a great variety of the finest woods, such as calaman- 
der, homander, ebony, viam, and sappan wood; and 
the tamarind, tulip, and cotton trees. Its fruits and 
flowers are luxuriantly rich and beautiful. But its 
most remarkable productions are cinnamon, pearls, 

































































































































































































































































































































* 












i 











« 







PROVINCES OF INDIA. 


93 


and rubies. Amidst this profusion of natural riches, 
Ceylon teems with reptiles, particularly snakes, some 
of which are thirty feet in length. Alligators as 
thick as the body of a horse, and little inferior in 
length to the crocodile of Nubia, are likewise found 
in the rivers; and the woods and thickets abound 
with guanas, toads, blood-suckers, leeches, flying 
lizards, and every species of tropical insects 90 . 


30 Hamilton, voL ii. p. 485—491. 


94 


THE HINDOOS. 


Chapter III. 

ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF THE HINDOOS. 

Having described as briefly as possible the country 
in which the Hindoos reside, we turn to the origin 
and antiquity of the people themselves. From the 
researches which have hitherto been instituted by 
oriental scholars into the literature of India, it seems 
sufficiently clear that the Hindoos, notwithstanding 
the high antiquity of some of their literary monu¬ 
ments, possess no historical works of any very ancient 
date. Whatever progress in civilization they may 
have made in the early ages of the world, the era of 
their establishment in India, the primitive form of 
their religion and government, and all that succession 
of great events which constitute the public history of 
a people, up to a comparatively recent period, must 
therefore for ever remain unknown. The prodigious 
antiquity to which the Brahmins lay claim, without 
proof of any kind, monumental or historical, is a 
delusion, designed to impose upon a credulous people. 
Of the origin of their institutions, and the ancient 
history of their race, they are utterly ignorant. A 
few vague traditions of remote antiquity are all that 
remains to guide us in our inquiries concerning the 
origin and primeval country of this extraordinary 
people, among whom vanity and a passion for the 
marvellous, have actively concurred in casting a veil 
of impenetrable obscurity over historical truth. 

The Hindoos do not, like the ancient Athenians, 
pretend to be Autochthones, or sprung from the soil 
in the very country which they inhabit. There 


ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY. 


95 


was, they acknowledge, a time when India was un¬ 
peopled, when the children of Brahma inhabited 
another country, less beautiful, perhaps, and less 
fertile than their present abode, but still regarded 
with religious veneration as the birth-place and cradle 
of their race. This country, the geography and exact 
position of which have long been obliterated from 
their memory, they suppose to be situated somewhere 
n the north, about the roots of the Hindoo Koosh 
or Indian Caucasus. Here among the pinnacles of 
Mount Himavan 1 they suppose their great patriarch 
Menu Vaivaswata (“ the sun-born”) to have dis¬ 
embarked with the seven famous sages from the ark, 
where those.eight persons had been preserved by 
Vishnu from the universal deluge, in which all the 
rest of mankind had perished. Here Menu and his 
family took up their abode, on Mount Sumeru, or the 
“ HolyMeru,” from whence, when considerably mul¬ 
tiplied, his posterity descended to the plains. 

According to these traditions, which are in per¬ 
fect consistency with the Hebrew scriptures and the 
opinions of many eminently learned men, the country 
first peopled after the flood was situated in that 
part of the great central plateau of Asia which abuts 
upon the Himalaya mountains ; that is, in Tibet. Of 
this country a very erroneous opinion is sometimes 
entertained. It is supposed to be wild, rugged, and 

1 Creuzer considers Northern India, or rather the lofty 
nlateau abutting on the Himalaya, in which the four great 
rivers—the Amu, the Brahmaputra, the Jihoon, and the Indus 
—take their rise, as the cradle of the human race ; from 
whence, as from a luminous centre, the light of knowledge 
has spread over the earth. Religions de l’Antiquite, tom. i. 
p. 133—136. Blumenbach, in his classification of the varieties 
of the human species, considers the Hindoos as a portion of 
the Caucasian family, which, in his opinion, comprehends all 
the nations of Europe, except the Finns and Laplanders; all 
the Asiatics inhabiting between the Oby, the Caspian Sea, and 
the Ganges; and the various nations of Northern Africa. De 
l’Unit6 de l’Espece Humaine, p. 286. 


96 


THE HINDOOS. 


savage, as its inhabitants. Few European travellers 
have visited it. Circumstances unconnected with 
the physical nature of the country, a jealous des¬ 
potism, and that barbarism which invariably follows 
hard upon the heels of political debasement, have 
surrounded it with an almost impenetrable barrier, 
at least as regards Europeans. “ M. de Guignes,” 
says Sir William Jones, “ whose great work on the 
Huns abounds more in solid learning than in rheto¬ 
rical ornaments, presents us, however, with a magni¬ 
ficent image of this wild region, describing it as a 
stupendous edifice, the beams and pillars of which are 
many ranges of lofty hills, and the dome one pro¬ 
digious mountain, to which the Chinese give the 
epithet of celestial 2 , with a considerable number of 

2 It was from this sublime country that Bailly, whom Sir 
William Jones denominates {c a wonderfully ingenious man 
and a very lively writer,” supposed the whole human race to 
have proceeded. But he was not, as our great orientalist 
imagines, the first who maintained this opinion, since we find 
Sir Walter Raleigh, a century before his time, advocating the 
same theory. We cannot discover in Bailly’s theory the ab¬ 
surdity which Sir William Jones appears to have detected in 
it; since, even had he placed the first seat of mankind on the 
banks of the Yenisei, he obviates all objections by maintaining 
that the temperature of the northern hemisphere has changed, 
an opinion not altogether destitute of probability. But, in 
fact, it is in a latitude of forty-nine or fifty degrees that he fixes 
his first man. Wheat, barley, and several kinds of vege¬ 
tables grow spontaneously in Siberia. Ksempfer imagines the 
Japanese to be descended from the Tatars; and Bailly justly 
remarks that the veneration of the Hindoos and Chinese for 
the lofty mountains of Tartary, clearly points to their original 
dwelling. When the Chinese make libations to the manes of 
their ancestors, they always turn towards the north pole. In 
the Institutes of Menu, the student about to commence the 
reading of Vedas, is directed to turn his face towards the north, 
ch. ii. ver. 70. The Brahmin is directed to sleep with his head 
pointing in this direction, ch. iii. ver. 89. On other occasions 
also he is to turn his face to this point, ch. iv. ver. 50.—Bailly 
adduces the pilgrimage of the Hindoos to the temple of the 
Dalai Lama, in Tibet, as an argument in favour of his hvpo- 


ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY. 


97 


broad rivers running,down its sides : if the mansion 
be so amazingly sublime, the land around it is pro- 
portionably extended, but more wonderfully diversi¬ 
fied ; for some parts of it are incrusted with ice, others 
parched with inflamed air and covered with a kind 
of lava: here we meet with immense tracts of sandy 
deserts and forests almost impenetrable; therewith 
gardens, groves, and meadows, perfumed with musk, 
watered with numberless rivulets, and abounding 
in fruits and flowers; and from east to west lie many 
considerable provinces, which appear as valleys in 
comparison of the hills towering above them, but 
in truth are the flat summits of the highest moun¬ 
tains in the world, or at least the highest in Asia. 
Near one-fourth in latitude of this extraordinary 
region is in the same charming climate with Greece, 
Italy, and Provence; and another fourth in that of 
England, Germany, and the northern parts of 
France; but the Hyperborean countries can have 
but few beauties to recommend them, at least in the 
present state of the earth’s temperature. To the 
south, on the frontiers of. Iran, are the beautiful vales 
of Sogd, with the celebrated cities of Samarkand 
and Bokhara; on those of Tibet, are the territories of 
Kashgar, Khoten, Chegil, Khata, all famed for per¬ 
fumes and the beauty of their inhabitants; and on 
those of China, lies the country of Chin , anciently a 
powerful kingdom, which name, like that of Khata, 
has been given to the whole Chinese empire, where 
such an appellation would be thought an insult. 
We must not omit the fine country of Tancut, which 
was known to the Greeks by the name of Serica , 

thesis; and, in fact, the Sannyasi from Madras encountered 
by Bell, in Mongolia, as well as those described by Duncan in 
the Asiatic Researches, vol. v. p. 37—52, seems to have been 
actuated by some obscure sentiment of this kind. See, in 
further illustration of this curious question, Bailly’s Lettres 
sur l’Atlantide ; and Lettres sur les Sciences, p. 228—266. 

VOL. I. K 


98 


THE HINDOOS. 


and considered by them as the farthest eastern ex¬ 
tremity of the habitable globe 3 *” 

Upon the southern frontiers of this vast region, in 
those rich plains and verdant valleys which skirt the 
foot of the Indian Caucasus, both philosophers and 
historians concur in fixing the cradle of the Hindoos, 
if not of all mankind. Here the Brahmins place the 
abode of Mahadeva, Adiswar, or Baghes , the “ Tiger 
Lord 4 ,” and the Jains that of Adnat’h, their great 
patriarch, who first taught men the arts of agricul¬ 
ture and of civilized life. 

The site of Mount Meru 5 cannot, as I have 

3 Discourse on the Tatars, Works, vol. iii. p. 72—74. 

4 Some writers have been led by the similarity in sound of 
the names Baghes and Bacchus to assume the identity of the 
Hindoo and the Greek deity so called, and have considered 
the present worship of Mahadeva or Baghes in these regions 
as a confirmation of the supposed expedition of Bacchus into 
India. It should, however, be observed that the similarity of 
the names Bacchus and Baghes is but accidental; the latter 
word is a modern vernacular corruption of the ancient Sanscrit 
Vyaghrisa , which is a compound of vyaghra, “ a tiger,” and 
isa, “ a master or lord.” Moreover, the connexion of Bacchus 
with India, as established on classical evidence, is extremely 
problematical, and at all events of a comparatively recent date. 
“ The expedition of Bacchus into India,” says Schlegel, 
“ which had never previously been spoken of, but which after¬ 
wards poets and artists vied with each other in illustrating, 
was actually invented and thrown back, as it were, into ancient 
mythology, by Alexander the Great. Wherever ivy grew, he 
would have it that Bacchus had been; and when the Mace¬ 
donians saw the troops of king Porus march towards them, 
keeping time with the beating of cymbals and kettle-drums 
and the sounding of' bells, they did not doubt but that this 
usage had been handed down to the natives from the time of 
the riotous processions of Bacchus.” Berliner Kalender, 1829, 
p. 23. 

5 The Abbe Dubois, who merely gives the traditions of the 
country, supposes that the Brahmins, whom he considers as the 
descendants of Japhet, entered India from the north-west, from 
the Hindoo Koosh, their original abode. The sacred books cS 
the Hindoos make mention, he remarks, of two mountains of 
Jambu-dwipa (Scythia), denominated Maha-Meru , or “ Great 


ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY. 


yy 


already observed, be ascertained exactly. The Hin¬ 
doos appear to place it somewhere between Bau- 
mian, Caubul, and Ghizni, where the abundance of 
those cavern-dwellings, which were among the ear¬ 
liest abodes of men, would seem, it must be acknow¬ 
ledged, to countenance the idea. “ In the midst of 
the mountains,” says Abul Fazl, “ are twelve thou¬ 
sand caves cut out of the rock, and ornamented with 
carving and plaster-work. These places are called 
Summij; and in ancient times were the winter retreat 
of the natives. Here are three astonishing idols; one 
representing a man, eighty ells high; another a wo¬ 
man, fifty; and the third, which is the figure of a 
child, measuring fifteen ells in height. In one of 
these Summijes is a tomb, where is a coffin containing 
a corpse, concerning which the oldest man can give 
no account; but it is held in high veneration. The 
ancients certainly were in possession of some medical 
preparations, with which if they anointed dead bodies, 
and afterwards buried them in a dry soil, they suf¬ 
fered no injury from time 6 .” These twelve thousand 
caverns constitute what is called the city of Baumian, 
which is situated on the road between Balkh and 
Caubul, eight days’ journey north-west of the latter 
city. Colonel Wilford denominates Baumian the 
“ Thebes of the East,” and observes, that of the vast 

Mem,” and Mandara , from which they invariably assert that 
the ancestors of the Brahmins came into India. Hence their 
pious veneration for the north, towards which they look with 
religious awe, under every circumstance of life. Dubois consi¬ 
ders the Hindoos a more ancient people than the Egyptians 
or Jews. Description, &c. p. 32—40. See also Creuzer, Rel. 
de l’Ant. tom. i. p. 581—589. 

• Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 169. On the rock-temples of 
Caubul, see Creuzer, Rel. de l’Ant. tom. i. p. 577. For a 
comparison between these statues and the colossal representa¬ 
tions of the Egyptian Memnon, see i Egypt and Mohammed 
Ali,’ vol. ii. p. 86. Lieut. Burnes, who has recently visited 
this singular country, describes but two statues, the larger 120, 
and the smaller about 80 feet in height. 


100 


THE HINDOOS. 


number of apartments or recesses hewn out of the 
rock, some are of such extraordinary dimensions that 
they are supposed to have been temples. No pillars 
have been hitherto discovered, but many of the apart¬ 
ments are adorned with niches and carved work, with 
painting’s half obliterated by smoke and time, and 
with figures in relievo, barbarously disfigured by the 
zeal of the Musulmans. The three colossal statues, 
the dimensions of which have been greatly exagge¬ 
rated in the Ayeen Akbery, represent some unknown 
personages—Bhima and his consort, according to the 
Hindoos, who therefore omit to appropriate the small 
one, but the Buddhists suppose them to be the statues 
of two of their sages ; while the Mohammedans insist 
that they are the figures of Kai'umers and his wife 
and son, three personages of the ancient traditional 
history of the Persians. The faces of all these figures 
are turned towards the east (an indication, perhaps, 
of their Sabeart origin), and therefore, when in the 
morning the first rays of the sun stream upon their 
countenances, they seem to smile, but look gloomy in 
the evening. The tiara -of the male figure and the 
dress of both resemble those of the two half-buried 
statues at Takht-i-Rustam, near Istakhar. “ The 
natives,” adds Colonel Wilford, “ look upon Bau- 
mian and the adjacent countries as the abode of the 
progenitors of mankind, both before and after the 
flood. By Baumian and the adjacent countries, 
they understand all the country from Sistan to Sa¬ 
markand, reaching towards the east as far as the 
Ganges. This tradition is of great antiquity, for it 
is countenanced equally by Persian authors and the 
sacred books of the Hindoos. The first heroes of 
Persian history lived and performed there innumer¬ 
able achievements. Their sacred history places also 
in that country their holy instructors, aud the first 
temples that were ever erected 7 .” 

7 Asiatic Researches, vol. vi. p. 470. The same learned 


ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY. 


101 


Colonel Tod, in speaking 1 of the Rajpoots, observes 
that these warlike tribes could hardly have acquired 
some of their still-existing Scythic habits and super¬ 
stitions on the burning plains adjoining the river 
Indus. “ It was too hot to hail with fervent devotion 
the return of the sun from his southern course, to 
enliven the northern hemisphere. This should be the 
religion of a colder clime, brought from their first 
haunts, the sources of the Jihoon and Jaxartes. The 
grand solstitial festival, the Aswamedha , or sacrifice 
of the horse (the type of the sun), practised by the 
children of Yaivaswata, the ‘ sun-born,’ was most 
probably introduced from Scythia into the plains of 
Ind 8 .” 

In these conclusions Colonel Tod had been anti¬ 
cipated by Bailly, a learned and elegant writer, who 
picked up the idea thrown out by Sir Walter Raleigh, 
“ that India was the first planted and peopled coun¬ 
try after the flood,” and supported its claims by a 
chain of very ingenious reasoning. Indeed it appears 
to be clearly demonstrated, as far at least as subjects 
of this nature admit of demonstration, that the origi¬ 
nal country of the Hindoos was situated somewhere 
to the north of India 9 . The traditions of the Brah- 

though fanciful writer elsewhere observes, “ that the first de¬ 
scendants of Swayambhuva are represented in the Puranas as 
living in the mountains to the north of India, towards the 
sources of the Ganges, and downwards as far as Serinagur 
and Haridwara. But the rulers of mankind lived on the sum¬ 
mit of them, towards the north ; where they appear to have 
established the seat of justice, as the Puranas make frequent 
mention of the oppressed repairing thither for redress.’' 
Vol. v. p. 260. 

8 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 24. 

8 Sir William Jones does not concur in the opinion of Sir 
Walter Raleigh and Bailly. He considers the Hindoos a 
colony from IVestern Persia (Fars), out not of Persian race. 
Yet he derives the Zend and Pehlevi , ancient dialects of 
Persia, as well as the language of Hafiz and Saadi, from the 
Sanscrit, To us, notwithstanding our respect for his learning 

K 3 


102 


THE HINDOOS. 


mins, recorded in their sacred books, point towards 
Maha-Meru and Mandara, two mountains of Jambu- 
dwipa, or Scythia, as the cradle of their race 10 . 
Hence their superstitious veneration for the north, 
towards which they look with a sort of filial reverence 
in every circumstance of life. A similar feeling of 
reverence for the north prevails among many other 
nations of the East. The Chinese, when they make 
libations to the manes of their ancestors, always turn 
towards the North Pole ; and the opening of the Great 
Pyramid, and the mysterious chest within, likewise 
point towards the north 11 . 

The arguments derived from similarity of religion 
or manners we omit to insist on in this place; they 
will be noticed as they occur in other chapters; but 
it should be remarked as a circumstance corroborative 
of the views here taken, that the wandering San- 

and abilities, all his reasonings on this subject appear wonder¬ 
fully weak and confused. 

10 Mr. Mill, who seems perfectly to coincide in opinion 
with Bailly and Sir Walter Raleigh, has the following very 
judicious remarks on the first peopling of India:—“ If we 
suppose that India began to be peopled at a very early stage 
in the peopling of the world, its first inhabitants must have 
been ignorant and rude. Uncivilized and ignorant men, 
transported in small numbers into an uninhabited country of 
boundless extent, must wander for many ages before any great 
improvement can take place.” Yet he continues, “ the advan¬ 
tages of India in soil and climate are so great, that those by 
whom it was originally peopled might sustain no further de¬ 
pression than what seems inherent in a state of dispersion. 
They wandered probably for ages in the immense plains and 
valleys of that productive region, living on fruits and the 
produce of their flocks and herds, and not associating beyond 
the limits of a particular family. Until the country became 
considerably peopled, it is not even likely that they would be 
formed into small tribes.” History of British India, vol. i. 
p. 149—151. 

11 Dr. Shaw’s Travels in the Levant, p. 374; Bailly, Lettres 
sur l’Origine des Sciences, p. 236; Egypt and Mohammed 
Ah, vol. ii. p. 23. 


ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY. 


103 


nyasis, who expect to enhance their sanctity by visiting 1 
holy places, very frequently undertake pilgrimages to 
the shrine of the Dalai Lama, situated within the 
limits of the sacred northern land. 

It might perhaps appear disrespectful to pass over 
in silence the names of several eminent writers who 
have maintained the opinions which we have adopted. 
Linnaeus and Buffon regarded Tartary as the earliest 
peopled country of the earth. Bory de St. Vincent, 
a clever, ingenious, but arrogant and paradoxical 
writer, supposes the lofty table-land about the sources 
of the Indus and the elevated valleys of Serinagur, 
to be the cradle of the Hindoos 12 ; and Malte-Brun, a 
modest and cautious inquirer, inclines to the same 
opinion 13 . Guigniaut, the French translator of Creu- 
zer’s celebrated work on the Religions of Antiquity, 
adopts the opinion of Heeren and others, that the 
Brahmins, and perhaps the Kshatriya and Vaisya 
castes, were originally a race of northern conquerors, 
of fair complexion; while the Sudras and other in¬ 
ferior tribes were an aboriginal and a darker race 14 . 

12 Essai Zoologique surl’Homme, tom. i. p. 231. See the 
whole sect. p. 225—235, with the plates of Peron and Freycinet. 

13 Precis de la Geographie Universelle,tom. iv. p. 127—137. 

14 The Abbe Dubois, as will hereafter be seen, agrees with 
Heeren, Guigniaut, &c.; but Bishop Heber, who, though he 
passed a much shorter time in India than Dubois, saw much 
more of the Hindoos, is of a decidedly different opinion. 
• * The great difference in colour between different natives struck 
me much: of the crowd by whom we were surrounded, some 
were black as negroes, others merely copper-coloured, and 
others little darker than Tunisians, whom I have seen at Li¬ 
verpool. Mr. Mill, the principal of Bishop’s College, who 
with Mr. Corrie, one of the chaplains in the Company’s ser¬ 
vice, had come down to meet me, and who has seen more of 
India than most men, tells me that he cannot account for this 
difference, which is general throughout the country, and every 
where striking. It is not merely the difference of ex¬ 
posure, since this variety of tint is visible in the fishermen, 
who are naked all alike. Nor does it depend on caste, 
since very high-caste Brahmins are sometimes black, while 


104 


THE HINDOOS. 


Just as these pages are going to the press, the 
second part of the second volume of the Transactions 
of the Royal Society of Literature has reached us, 
which contains an interesting dissertation by A. W. 
von Schlegel, written in French, on the origin of 
the Hindoos. The author shows that the national 
tradition current among the Hindoos points towards 
the northern part of the country now inhabited 
by them as the earliest seat of their race, and 
the proper and primeval abode of the Brahminic 
mode of worship and social institutions. He then 
proceeds to infer, chiefly from the surprising simi¬ 
larity in structure of their ancient and classical 
language, the Sanscrit, with the Persian, the Greek, 
the Latin, and the several Germanic, Lettic, and 
Slavonic dialects, that the Hindoos and the nations 
to whom the latter languages belong, form one large 
family, and must, at some remote period, have 
had a common abode, whence they emigrated in 
different directions. This abode was, in Schlegel’s 
opinion, situated in the country to the east of the 
Caspian Sea, whence the ancestors of the Persians 
must have proceeded in a south-western, those of 
the Hindoos in a south-eastern, and those of the 
European nations in a northern and western di¬ 
rection. The tribe that emigrated towards India 
must, he thinks, have crossed the Indus near Attok, 
the only part where that river is passable, and pro¬ 
ceeded through the Panj&b, thus entering India by 
nearly the same route as that followed by Alexander 
the Great, by Seleucus and the Greek sovereigns of 
Bactriana, and by nearly all the more recent Mo¬ 
hammedan invaders of India. 

Pariahs are comparatively fair. It seems therefore to be an 
accidental difference, like that of light and dark complexions 
in Europe, though, where so much of the body is exposed to 
sight, it becomes more striking here than in our own country.’* 
Vol. i. p. 910. 


105 


Chapter IV. 

ON THE INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 

There is hardly any subject connected with India, 
respecting which the opinions even of respectable 
writers are so much at variance as on the division ot 
the people into classes or castes. The question, it 
must be acknowledged, is surrounded with great 
difficulties. We find original authorities of the high¬ 
est character differing from each other in many 
important particulars; while among the European 
observers of Hindoo society, the greatest confusion 
of ideas has in general prevailed. Robertson, in his 
Historical Disquisition concerning the knowledge of 
India possessed by the ancients, has embodied in 
very eloquent language the popular notions on the 
institution of castes. “ From the most ancient ac¬ 
counts of India we learn,” says he, “ that the distinc¬ 
tion of ranks and separation of professions were 
completely established there. This is one of the 
most undoubted proofs of a society considerably ad¬ 
vanced in its progress. Arts, in the early stages of 
social life, are so few and so simple, that each man is 
sufficiently master of them all to gratify every demand 
of his own limited desires. A savage can form his 
bow, point his arrows, rear his hut, and hollow his 
canoe without calling in the aid of any hand more 
skilful than his own. But when time has augmented 
the wants of men, the productions of art become so 
complicated in their structure or so curious in their 
fabric, that a particular course of education is requi¬ 
site towards forming the artist to ingenuity in con- 


106 


THE HINDOOS. 


trivance and expertness in execution. In proportion 
as refinement spreads, the distinction of professions 
increases, and they branch into more numerous and 
minute subdivisions, Prior to the records of authentic 
history, and even before the most remote era to which 
their own traditions pretend to reach, this separation 
of professions had not only taken place among the 
natives of India, but the perpetuity of it was secured 
by an institution which must be considered as the 
fundamental article in the system of their policy. 
The whole body of the people was divided into four 
orders or castes. The members of the first, deemed 
the most sacred, had it for their province to study the 
principles of religion, to perform its functions, and 
to cultivate the sciences. They were the priests, the 
instructors, and the philosophers of the nation. The 
members of the second order were intrusted with 
the government and defence of the state. In peace 
they were its rulers and magistrates, in war they 
were the generals who commanded its armies and the 
soldiers who fought its battles. The third was com¬ 
posed of husbandmen and merchants; and the fourth 
of artisans, labourers, and servants. None of those 
can ever quit his own caste or be admitted into 
another. The station of every individual is unalter¬ 
ably fixed ; his destiny is irrevocable ; and the walk 
of life is marked out, from which he must never 
deviate. This line of separation is not only esta¬ 
blished by civil authority, but confirmed and sanc ¬ 
tioned by religion ; and each order or caste is said to 
have proceeded from the Divinity in such a different 
manner, that to mingle or confound them would be 
deemed an act of most daring impiety. Nor is it 
between the four dilferent tribes alone that such in¬ 
separable barriers are fixed; the members of each 
caste adhere invariably to the profession of their fore¬ 
fathers. From generation to generation the same 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


IC'' 

families have followed, and will always continue to 
follow, one uniform line of life 1 ” 

This picture of Indian society may, perhaps, be 
thought to represent not only a real but an enviable 
state of things, particularly as the historian immediately 
proceeds to enumerate the many great advantages 2 


1 Historical Disquisition, &c., Appendix, sect. i. p. 177—179. 

2 They who have witnessed the actual results of this system, 
even modified as it has been by time and circumstances, will 
be surprised to find how many advantages Robertson ascribes 
to it. “ The object,” he observes, “ of the first Indian legis¬ 
lators was to employ the most effectual means of providing for 
the subsistence, the security and happiness of all the members 
of the community over which they presided. With this view, 
they set apart certain races of men for each of the various 
professions and arts necessary in a well-ordered society, and 
appointed the exercise of them to be transmitted from father to 
son in succession. This system, though extremely repugnant 
to the ideas which we, by being placed in a very different state 
of society, have formed, will be found, upon an attentive in¬ 
spection, better adapted to attain the end in view than a care¬ 
less observer, at first sight, is apt to imagine. The human 
mind bends to the law of necessity, and is accustomed, not 
only to accommodate itself to the restraints which the condition 
of its nature, or the institutions of its country impose, but to 
acquiesce in them. From his entrance into life, the Indian 
knows the station allotted to him, and the functions to which " 
he is destined by his birth. The objects which relate to these, 
are the first that present themselves to his view. They occupy 
his thoughts or employ his hands ; and from his earliest years, 
he is trained to the habit of doing with ease and pleasure what 
he must continue through life to do. To this may be ascribed 
that high degree of perfection conspicuous in many of the 
Indian manufactures; and though veneration for the practices 
of their ancestors may check the spirit of invention, yet by 
adhering to these, they acquire such an expertness and delicacy 
of hand, that Europeans, with all the advantages of superior 
science, and the aid of more complete instruments, have never 
been able to equal the exquisite execution of their workmanship. 
While this high improvement of their more curious manufactures 
excited the admiration and attracted the commerce of other 
nations, the separation of professions in India and the early 
distribution of the people into classes, attached to particular 


108 


THE HINDOOS. 


which he supposes must have arisen from such a» 
arrangement. Before we examine how far the pic¬ 
ture resembles the original, it may be desirable to 
adduce the opinion of another distinguished writer, 
who does not differ very materially from Robertson. 
Having described, from various ancient authorities, 
the splendid condition of the priestly caste, this 
author adds: “ Those prerogatives or privileges, im¬ 
portant and extraordinary as they may seem, afford, 
however, but an imperfect idea of the influence of 
the Brahmins in the intercourse of Hindoo society. 
As the greater part of life among the Hindoos is 
engrossed by the performance of an infinite and bur¬ 
densome ritual, which extends to almost every hour 
of the da«y, and every function of nature and society, 
the Brahmins, who are the sole judges and directors 
in these complicated and endless duties, are rendered 
uncontrollable masters of human life. Thus elevated 
in power and privileges, the ceremonial of society 
is no less remarkably in their favour. They are so 
much superior to the king, that the meanest Brah¬ 
min would account himself polluted by eating with 
him, and death itself would appear to him less 
dreadful than the degradation of permitting his 
daughter to unite herself in marriage with his sove¬ 
reign.” Further on, he thus describes the condition 
of the Sudra: “ As much as the Brahmin is an object 
of intense veneration, so much is the Sudra an object 
of contempt and even of abhorrence to the other 
classes of his countrymen. The business of the 
Sudras is servile labour, and their degradation in¬ 
human. Not only is the most abject and grovelling 
submission imposed upon them as a religious duty, 

kinds of labour, secured such an abundance of the more 
common and useful commodities as not only supplied their 
own wants, but ministered to those of the countries around 
them.” Historical Description, &c., p. 180,181. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


109 


but they are driven from their just and equal share 
in all the advantages of the social institution. The 
crimes which they commit against others are more 
severely punished, than those of any other delin¬ 
quents, while the crimes which others commit against 
them are more gently punished than those against 
any other sufferers. Even their persons and labour 
are not free. A man of the servile caste, whether 
bought or unbought, a Brahmin may compel to per¬ 
form servile duty; because such a man was created 
by the self-existent for the purpose of serving Brah¬ 
mins. The law scarcely permits them to own pro¬ 
perty, for it is declared that no collection of wealth 
must be made by a Sudra, even though he has power, 
since a servile man, who has amassed riches, gives 
pain even to Brahmins. A Brahmin may seize, 
without hesitation, the goods of his Sudra slave ; for 
as that slave can have no property, his master may 
take his goods. Any failure in the respect exacted of 
the Sudra towards the superior classes is avenged 
by the most dreadful punishments. Adultery with a 
woman of a higher caste is expiated by burning to 
death on a bed of iron. The degradation of the 
wretched Sudra extends not only to every thing in 
this life, but even to the sacred instruction, and his 
chance of favour with the superior powers. A Brah¬ 
min must never read the Veda in the presence of 
Sudras 3 .” 

Dr. Tenant, a writer who had resided in India, 
takes quite the same view of the subject. “ The 
very structure and arrangement of society itself is 
in India formed by the religious system, which there 
interferes with every temporal as well spiritual con 
cern of its professors. It thus lays in its very foun¬ 
dation the grand obstacle to every improvement 

8 Mill’s History of British India, vol. i. p. 162, 163, 167 
168. 

VOL. I. 


L 


110 


THE HINDOOS, 


the condition of the people. It has divided the 
whole community into four great classes, and sta¬ 
tioned each class between certain walls of separation, 
which are impassable by the purest virtue, and by 
the most conspicuous merit.” 

The author of a History of British India, in the 
Asiatic Annual Register, likewise writes in the same 
strain. “ The Hindoo people,” says he, “have been 
divided from time out of memory into four distinct 
classes or orders, each of which possesses its separate 
immunities and appropriate laws, and none of which 
are permitted to intermarry or to have any further 
connexion with one another than the fellowship of 
custom and the communion of faith V’ 

In order to make this description of Indian society 
appear the less extraordinary and incredible, it has been 
attempted to be shown that a similar classification of 
the people existed among many other ancient nations. 
The Egyptians, whose religion and institutions cer¬ 
tainly bore a considerable resemblance on various 
points to those of the Hindoos, are said to have been 
divided by some ancient legislator, into three, four, 
or seven castes, but the exact-number is not known. 
At the head of these castes stood the priests, to whom, 
according to ancient authorities, one-third of the whole 
land of Egypt was assigned. Next followed the 
military caste, a more numerous body perhaps than 
the priests ; and therefore, though they also pos¬ 
sessed a third of the land, individually less wealthy. 
Then came the body of the people, the yeomanry 
and artisans, who, whether they consisted of one 

4 These two writers are quoted by Mr. Rickards, in his 
valuable work on India, in order to show into what extraordi¬ 
nary errors even able men, in spite of the advantage of ex¬ 
perience, will sometimes fall, when they have unfortunately 
adopted a plausible system. India, or Facts submitted to 
illustrate the Character and Condition of the native Inhabi¬ 
tants, vol. i. p. 6—8. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


HI 


class or were divided into many, were originally in¬ 
vested with the property of the remaining third of 
the land 5 . Around each of these castes a moral 
barrier was attempted to be created, impassable alike 
to industry, to genius, and to virtue. The son of an 
embalmer, the Chandala of Egypt, was condemned 
by the legislator to follow from generation to gene¬ 
ration the abhorred profession of his father; to be 
regarded as an unclean being, as an ogre or a vam¬ 
pire, delighting in the touch of corpses, whom it was 
lawful first to employ and afterwards to stone in the 
streets. All other professions, it is said, were in like 
manner hereditary. Mr. Mill has cited a passage 
from Plato, in which it is pretended that the quadru¬ 
ple division of the people into castes prevailed in very 
ancient times among the Athenians 6 . But those 
times were indeed ancient, long before civilization had 
commenced in Egypt, or the great Atlantic island or 
continent had been overwhelmed by the ocean. The 
fancy is put by Plato into the mouth of a vain Egyp¬ 
tian priest, deriding the Greeks as a modern people, 
but at the same time inadvertently admitting that 
they were far more ancient than his own countrymen. 
The whole, however, is too much like a piece of 
pleasantry, or like a dream, seriously to assist us in 
our inquiries. Cecrops, it is said, afterwards effected 
the same division of the people &mong the Athe- 

8 Diod. Sicul. lib. i. p. 84; Strabo, lib. xvii. p. 1135.—These 
three classes were again subdivided, as in India. Herodotus, 
lib. ii. cap. 164.—Afterwards the king got possession of the 
people’s portion of the land, but restored it on condition that 
he should receive a fifth of the produce. Genesis, chap, xlvii. 
ver. 18—20.—The priests, therefore, possessed a. third, and the 
king a fifth of the whole kingdom. Goguet, Orig. des Loix, 
tom. i. p. 113.—Sesostris is said to have divided the land into 
equal portions, like Lycurgus. Id. tom. iii. p. 30; Aristot. 
Polit. lib. vii. cap. 10, (c. 9, ed. Schneider). 

6 Platon. Timseus, p. 24, A. ed. Steph. 


112 


THE HINDOOS. 


nians 7 ; though elsewhere this division is attributed to 
Erechtheus. The same classification, according to 
Professor Millar, prevailed among the Anglo-Saxons. 
The ancient Colchians and Iberians are supposed to 
have been classified; as well as the Persians, the 
Medes, and even the Peruvians: in short, those writers 
who are satisfied with very distant analogies find this 
institution everywhere. Mr. Mill supposes that the 
introduction of the institution of castes among the 
Arabs and Tartars would be a benefit; but he could 
not have sufficiently reflected upon the comparative 
conditions of those nations and the great body of the 
Hindoos, according to his own view of the matter. 
If he has painted correctly—to say nothing of Arab 
and Tatar—who would not rather be a savage than 
a Sudra? But if this classification of the people was 
actually effected among all those ancient nations as 
well as among the Hindoos, may we not infer that 
the result has everywhere been nearly the same ? 
The Greeks, whatever were their institutions during 
their connexion with the people of Atlantis, had com¬ 
pletely shaken off, by the time they arrived at the 
historical period, every trammel of caste. With re¬ 
spect to the Egyptians, the Medes, and the Persians 
of Jemshid, it must be candidly acknowledged that 
our acquaintance with them is too slight to admit of 
our predicating any thing with confidence concerning 
this part of their institutions. We are, therefore, 
after all compelled to contemplate the institutions 
of the Hindoos in themselves, with little or no light 
from any considerations of analogy. Neither Plato 
nor Aristotle can aid us. Our only guide through 

7 For this fact Goguet, tom. iii. p. 42, refers to Pollux, lib. 
viii. 109. But of what authority is Pollux in a matter of 
this kind P— Cecrops, we see, is not allowed to maintain peace¬ 
ful possession of this honour, for Strabo brings in another 
claimant in Erechtheus. 





Page 110. Sudra. Kshatriya. Vaisya. Brahmin. 

Individuals of the four great Castes. 

























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


113 


this obscure labyrinth must be no other than common 
sense; which, however, if we partially follow its 
footsteps, may be sufficient. 

It is generally acknowledged that, at some remote 
period, an attempt was made, apparently by the 
Brahmins, to divide the people of India into four 
great castes ; first, the Brahmins , or priests; second, 
the Kshatriyas , or soldiers; third, the Vaisyas, or 
merchants and husbandmen ; and fourth, the Sudras , 
or artisans and labourers. This classification is 
attributed to Menu. But we are not to seek for its 
origin in the great Dharma Sastra 8 , or ‘ Institutes 
of Menu,’ which are not even attributed to the law¬ 
giver himself, but are said to be a compilation made 

8 The Hindoos, Sir William Jones remarks, firmly believe 
these laAVs to have been promulgated in the beginning of time 
by Menu, son or grandson of Brahma; or, in plain language, 
the first of created beings, and not the oldest only, but the 
holiest of legislators. Yet the Brahmins can give us no precise 
information respecting the age in which this holy man lived, 
or even of the era of the compilation of the Institutes attributed 
to him. The character of Bhrigu, and the whole dramatic 
arrangement of the work, are acknowledged to be fictitious. 
Nothing is known of the author of the Institutes, of the time 
when, or the place where they were composed; for the reason¬ 
ing by which Sir William Jones attempts to prove them older 
than the laws of Solon and Lyeurgus, and even to fix the year 
880 b.c. as the period of their promulgation, appears to us 
wholly unsatisfactory. The same thing may be said of his 
endeavours to prove the Yajur-Veda more ancient than the 
Pentateuch. He does not actually assert, but seems clearly 
to have believed that Menu and Minos were one and the same 
person; or, at least, that the Cretan lawgiver adopted some of 
his institutions, which thus found their way at length to Sparta! 
The dreams of an able man may be entitled to some indul¬ 
gence, but these whimsical filiations appear to us utterly 
groundless. However, the reader who desires to consider the 
arguments of Sir William Jones, may consult the preface to 
the Institutes, in his Works, vol. vii. p. 75—90 ; in Haughton’s 
edition of Menu, vol. ii. p. xiii. &c. 

I, 3 


14 


THE HINDOOS. 


by Bhrigu from the floating records of tradition. The 
four-fold division of the people took place anterior to 
the era of this compilation; and Colonel Tod argues 
with considerable force and ingenuity that the system 
of castes approached its perfection about one thousand 
four hundred years before Christ. Whatever progress 
the Hindoos have made in the sciences, or arts, or 
arms, must, he insists, have taken place before this 
epoch; for “it is difficult,” says he, “to conceive 
how the arts and sciences could advance, when it is 
held impious to doubt the truth of whatever has been 
handed down, and still more to suppose that the 
degenerate could improve thereon. The highest am¬ 
bition of the present learned priesthood, generation 
after generation, is to be able to comprehend what 
has thus reached them, and to form commentaries 
upon past wisdom ; which commentaries are com¬ 
mented upon ad infinitum. Whoever dare now 
aspire to improve thereon, must keep the secret in his 
own breast. They are but the expounders of the 
olden oracles: were they more they would beinfidels. 
But this could not always have been the case.” 

Previous to the period above stated it is abundantly 
clear that no impassable barrier between the several 
orders of society existed. “ In the early ages of the 
Solar and Lunar dynasties,” says the same writer* 
“ the priestly office was not hereditary in families ; 
it was a profession ; and the genealogies exhibit fre¬ 
quent instances of branches of these races terminating 
their martial career in the commencement of a religious 
sect, or gotra, and of their descendants reassuming 
their warlike occupations. Thus of the ten sons of 
Icshwacu, three are represented as abandoning 
worldly affairs and taking to religion, and one of 
these, Canin, is said to be the first who made an 
agnihotra , or pyreum, and worshipped fire, while 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


115 


another son embraced commerce. Of the Lunar 
line and the six sons of Pururavas, the name of the 
fourth was Reh;” from him the fifteenth generation 
was Harita, who with his eight brothers took to the 
office of religion, and established the Causika Gotra, 
a tribe of Brahmins. “In the very early periods,” 
(we again quote Colonel Tod,) “ the princes of the 
Solar line, like the Egyptians and Romans, combined 
the offices of the priesthood with the kingly power, 
and this whether Brahminical or Buddhist. Many 
of the royal line, before and subsequent to Rama, 
passed great part of their lives as ascetics; and in 
ancient sculpture and drawings, the head is as often 
adorned with the braided lock of the ascetic, as with 
the diadem of royalty. The greatest monarchs be¬ 
stowed their daughters on these royal hermits and 
sages. Ahalya, the daughter of the powerful Pan- 
chalica, became the wife of the ascetic Gotama. The 
sage Jamadagni espoused the daughter of Sahasra 
Arjuna, of Mahasvati, king of the Hihya tribe, a 
great branch of the Yadu race V’ 

But even if we assume, with Colonel Tod, that the 
system of castes had acquired something like consis¬ 
tency about fourteen hundred years before Christ, we 
shall be able to prove from the Dharma Sastra itself 
that its rigid sway was not of long duration. The 
compiler of this work, whoever he was, speaking of 
a monarch named Vena, who apparently had lived 
many ages before his time, observes:—“ He, pos¬ 
sessing the whole earth, and thence only called the 
chief of sage monarchs, gave rise to a confusion of 
classes, when his intellect became weak through 
lust 10 .” Now, according to Sir William Jones, the 
compilation of the Manava Dharma Sastra was made 
about eight hundred and eighty, or nine hundred 

9 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 26, 27, 29. 

10 Institutes of Menu, chap. ix. ver. 67. 


116 


THE HINDOOS. 


years before Christ; suppose Vena to have preceded 
this period by two hundred years, and we shall find 
that the Utopia of Menu, or rather of the Brahmins, 
did not, at most, flourish in all its glory above three 
hundred years. In the age of Bhrigu, the corruption 
of mankind was hopeless. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and 
Vaisyas, captivated by fortune or beauty, had de¬ 
scended to the embraces of Sudra wives, and from 
these unions had proceeded upwards of ninety mixed 
classes, whose actions and employments the legisla¬ 
tor found it necessary to regulate. JHis abhorrence, 
however, for these children of unhallowed nuptials is 
strikingly visible in his naive original language: 
“From a Brahmin on a wife of the Vaisya class,” he 
observes, “ is born a son called AmbasMha or 
Vaidya, on a Sudra wife a Nishada, named also 
Parasava : from a Kshatriya on a wife of the Sudra 
class, springs a creature called Ugra n , with a nature 
partly warlike and partly servile, ferocious in his 
manners, cruel in his acts. The sons of a Brahmin 
by women of three lower classes, of a Kshatriya by 
women of two, and of a Vaisya by one lower class, 
are called Apasadah , or degraded below their fathers. 
From a Kshatriya, by a Brahmini wife, springs a 
Suta by birth ; from a Vaisya, by a military or sacer¬ 
dotal wife, spring a Magadha , and a Vaideka. From 
a Sudra on women of the commercial, military, or 
priestly classes, are born sons of a mixed breed, 
called Ayogava, Kshattri, and Chandala , the lowest 
of mortals 12 .” Having acknowledged the existence 
of these mixed castes, he proceeds to appropriate to 
each the occupation which he considered most suit¬ 
able to its nature. “ A Dasyu, or outcast of any 

11 Hence, perhaps, may have been derived the word ogre. 
The description suits exactly the vulgar ideas attached to that 
kind of monster. 

18 Institutes of Menu, chap, x.ver. 8—12. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


117 


pure class, begets on an Ayogavi woman a Sairin- 
dhra, who should know how to attend and to dress 
his master; though not a slave, he must live by 
slavish work, and may also gain subsistence by 
catching wild beasts in toils. A Vaideha begets on 
her a sweet-voiced Maitreyaca , who, ringing a bell 
at the appearance of dawn, continually praises great 
men. A Nishada begets on her a Margava or Dasa , 
who subsists by his labour in boats, and is named 
Caiverta by those who dwell in Aryavarta, or the 
land of the venerable. Those three of a base tribe 
are severally begotten on Ayogavi women, who wear 
the clothes of the deceased, and eat reprehensible 
food 13 .” Other mixed classes are differently disposed 
of: one is condemned to live without the town; 
another is to work with cane and reeds ; a third is 
to act as jailor; and a fourth is to earn his liveli¬ 
hood by punishing criminals condemned by the king. 
“ This last,’’ Menu observes, “ is a sinful wretch ever 
despised by the virtuous.” Some classes are degraded 
to wait on women, or slay wild beasts; while another 
caste called Ugra&re condemned to the unaccountable 
species of degradation of “ killing or confining such 
animals as live in holes 14 .” 

Such was the state of the system of castes about 
nine hundred years before Christ. It was found 
incompatible with the necessary movements of society, 
and, without being formally set aside, had grown to 
be openly neglected in a very remarkable degree. 
Still, the influence of the Brahmins, backed by the 
terrors of superstition and the force of habit, sufficed 
to embitter the destiny of those mixed classes whose 
existence they were unable to prevent. These arro¬ 
gant priests had, it seems, contrived some way or 

* 3 Institutes, &c. chap. x. ver. 32—35. 

14 Idem, chap. x. ver. 49. 


118 


THE HINDOOS. 


another to raise a belief that a great degree of moral 
turpitude was attached to the intermarriage of the 
different orders of society 15 . Some obscure persua¬ 
sion of a similar kind existed among the old patri¬ 
cians of Rome, who would seem seriously to have 

15 In the consulship of Marcus Genucius and Caius Curtius, 
a. r. 310, when Caius Canuleius, a tribune of the people, proposed 
a law for allowing the intermarriage of patricians and plebeians, 
which the former, says Livy, considered as tending to contami¬ 
nate their blood, and to confound all the distinctions and privileges 
of noble birth , the consuls had the insolent temerity to advance 
in the senate-house that the project of Canuleius tended to 
nothing less “ than the prostitution of the privileges of nobility, 
and the confounding of the rights of auspices both public and 
private, that nothing might be left pure and unpolluted; and 
that, every distinction being removed, no person might know 
what himself was, or to what order he belonged. For what 
other tendency had such promiscuous intermarriages, than to pro¬ 
duce an irregular intercourse between patricians and plebeians, 
not very different from that between brutes. So that of their 
offspring not one should be able to tell of what blood he was, 
or in what mode he was to worship the gods, being himself a 
heterogeneous composition, half patrician and half plebeian.” 
Livy, lib. iv. cap. 2. Again, on the proposition of Sextius and 
Licinius to elect consuls and five decemvirs for superintending 
religious matters from among the plebeians, Appius Claudius 
Crassus exclaims: “ But what shall I say with respect to re¬ 
ligion, and the auspices; the affront and injury offered to which 
reflect immediately on the immortal gods ?” “ Does not he, in 

effect, abolish the auspices, who, by creating plebeian consuls, 
takes them out of the hands of the patricians, the only persons 
capable of holding them ? They may now mock at religion, and 
say, where is the great matter if the chickens do not feed ? If 
they come out too slowly from the coop P If a bird chaunt, an 
ominous note? . ... Let, therefore, pontiffs, augurs, kings 

of the sacrifices, be chosen at random. Let us place the tiara 
of Jupiter’s flamen on any one that offers, provided he be a 
man.” Id. lib. vi. cap. 41; see also lib. vii. cap. 6, and lib. 
iv. cap. 6.—Niebuhr remarks that, at the period referred to 
by Livy, the Romans consisted of two different nations, united 
in one city (Roman History, vol. ii. p. 47), and justifies the 
expression by a citation from Dionysius, who calls the different 
orders “ nations.” Lib. x. cap. 60. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


119 


imagined that the union of one of their class with the 
plebeian might be offensive to Jupiter. 

But, be this as it may, the tribes arising from the 
intermarriage of the castes have by the Brahmins 
always been regarded as impure, and placed without 
the pale of society; which at first threw upon the 
condition of an outcast an air of terrible isolation, as 
if those who were thus excluded from the social 
system had been stricken with a moral leprosy ; 
but as the number of the impure tribes increased, 
and formed in themselves a numerous community, 
they began to compare the bulk of their own body 
with that of the one from which they had been 
driven, and the feeling of isolation died away. A 
kind of public opinion was created among themselves ; 
the consciousness of wrong and injustice imparted a 
degree of dignity to the hatred with which they 
repaid the scorn of the Brahmins; and during the 
long ages of bloodshed and anarchy through which 
India has descended to her present degradation, 
occasions were not wanting to the oppressed, nor 
did they fail to profit by them, of avenging on their 
tyrants the ignominy and misery of their race. How¬ 
ever, the extent to which the contempt of the Brah¬ 
mins formerly affected the condition of the mixed 
tribes is not exactly known. It is certain they were 
not, in all cases, deprived of the benefits of educa¬ 
tion ; for Vyasa, the principal editor of the Vedas, 
and Valmiki, the great epic poet of India, belonged 
to these impure castes, though invested with a sacred 
character by Hindoo legends 16 . 

Of all these impure tribes the most numerous and 
the best known is that of the Pariahs , a word formed 
by corruption from Parriar , the Tamul appellation 
of these outcasts. According to the calculation of 
the Abbe Dubois, the Pariahs constitute one-fifth of 
16 Colonel Tod, Annals, &c. vol. i. p. 29. 


120 


THE HINDOOS. 


the whole population of India, and consequently fall 
very little short of thirty millions,—a number nearly 
equal to that of the entire population of France 17 . 
Like the other subordinate tribes, they are subdivided 
into several classes, among which, notwithstanding 
the contempt in which they are all equally held by the 
other Hindoos, there is a constant struggle for supe¬ 
riority. But the disdain of the superior castes for 
the Pariah is regulated by geographical position. 
“ It prevails chiefly in the southern parts of the 
Peninsula,” says Dubois, “ and becomes less appa¬ 
rent in the north. In that quarter of the Mysore, 
where I am now writing these pages, the higher 
classes endure the approach of the Pariahs, for they 
suffer them to enter that part of the house which 
shelters the cows, and in some cases they have been 
permitted to show their head and one foot in the 
apartment of the master of the house. I have been 
informed that the whole distinction between these 
castes becomes less apparent as you go northward, 
till at last it almost totally disappears.—In theory, 
the Brahmin considers the air of a whole neighbour¬ 
hood polluted by the approach of a Pariah, who is, 
therefore, prohibited from entering the street in which 
the Brahmins reside, and if they venture to transgress, 
those superior beings would have the right, not to 
assault them themselves, because it would be a 
pollution to touch them even with the end of a long 
pole, but they would be entitled to give them a sound 
beating by the hands of others, or even to make an 
end of them, which has often happened by the orders 
of the native princes, without dispute or inquiry. He 
who has been touched, even without being conscious 
of it, by a Pariah, is defiled, and cannot be purified 
from the stain, or communicate with any individual, 

17 Description of the Manners, &c. of the People of India, 
p.454. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


121 


without undergoing a variety of ceremonies more or 
less difficult, according to the rank of the individual 
and the custom of the caste to which he belongs 18 .” 

The conjectures of Dubois on the origin of the 
Pariah tribe are so remarkable for prejudice that they 
would appear to have been dictated by a Brahmin. 
“ It is more than probable,” says he, “ that this 
despised tribe was originally created by the union of 
individuals of all castes, who were expelled for bad 
conduct and transgressions of the rules of their 
order.” “ They would naturally be led to give them¬ 
selves up to every excess without restraint. In that 
abandoned course of life they still continue.” From 
all this, what should we naturally infer, but that the 
motives for which men are usually expelled from 
their caste, must be most heinous and atrocious 
in their nature ? We will take the Abbe’s own 
description of them. “ Exclusion from caste is 
frequently put in force without much ceremony, 
sometimes even out of hatred or caprice. These 
cases happen when individuals, from whatever mo¬ 
tives, refuse in the whole, or for the greater part, to 
assist at the marriages or funerals of any one of their 
relations or friends, or to invite on such occasions 
of their own, those that have a right to be present. 
Persons excluded in this way never fail to commence 
proceedings against those who have offered them 
the insult, demanding reparation for their wounded 
honour. Such instances are commonly terminated 
by arbitration.” He then adds, by way of illus¬ 
tration, “ It is not necessary that offences against 
the usages of caste should be either intentional or of 
great magnitude. It happened, to my knowledge, 
not along ago, that some Brahmins who live in my 
neighbourhood, having been convicted of eating at a 

18 Description, &c. p. 455, 456. Dr. Francis Buchanan’s 
Journey through Mysore, vol. ii. p. 493. 

VOL. I. 


M 


122 


THE HINDOOS. 


public entertainment with a Sudra, disguised as a 
Brahmin , were all ejected from the caste, and did 
not regain admission into it without undergoing an 
infinite number of ceremonies both troublesome and 
expensive 19 .” 

It does not necessarily follow, therefore, that the 
ancestors of the Pariahs were an immoral or aban¬ 
doned set of men. Under some frivolous pretence 
or another they were expelled from their caste, and 
they may have been prevented, in some cases by 
poverty, in others by wounded pride, from under¬ 
going the humiliating ceremonies attending a re¬ 
admission. Their present condition and employment 
are thus described by Dubois. “ But, if the caste of 
the Pariahs be held in low and vile repute, it must be 
admitted that it deserves to be so, by the conduct of 
the individuals and the sort of life which they lead. 
The most of them sell themselves, with their wives 
and children, for slaves to the farmers, who make 
them undergo the hardest labours of agriculture, and 
treat them with the utmost severity. They are like¬ 
wise the scavengers of the villages, their business 
being to keep the thoroughfares clean, and to remove 
all the filth as it collects in the houses. Yet these, 
notwithstanding the meanness of their employment, 
are generally better treated than the others, because 
there is superadded to the disgusting employment 
we have mentioned, the cleanlier duty of distributing 
the waters of the tanks and canals, for irrigating the 
rice plantations of.the inhabitants of the village, who, 
for that reason, cannot avoid feeling some kindness 
in their behalf. Some of them, who do not live in 
this state of servitude, are employed to take care of 
the horses of individuals, or of the army, or of 
elephants and oxen. They are also the porters, 
and run upon errands and messages. In some parts 

19 Description of the Manners, &c. p. 25. Compare Bucha¬ 
nan’s Mysore, vol. i. p. 30G. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


123 


they are permitted to cultivate the lands for their 
own benefit, and in others they can exercise the 
profession of weavers. Of late they have occasion¬ 
ally been admitted into the European armies and 
those of the native princes, in which they have some¬ 
times attained considerable distinction. In point of 
courage they are not inferior to any other Hindoo 
caste, but the education they receive deprives them 
of all the other qualities of a soldier 20 . 55 

Inferior even to the Pariahs are certain obscure 
castes which are found in various parts of India. 
Such are, for example, the Pallis , in the kingdom of 
Madura, and the Pulias , who inhabit the forests and 
mountainous districts of the Malabar coast. These 
wild people, who are by the natives esteemed inferior 
to the beasts of prey, which roam through and share 
the dominion of their forests, are not even permitted 
to erect for themselves houses. A shed supported 
on four bamboos, and open on all sides, shelters 
them from the rain, but not from the inclemency 
of the weather. They dare not venture upon the 
public road, lest their steps should defile it; and when 
they perceive any person approaching them from a 
distance, they are commanded to utter a yell or loud 
cry, like a noxious beast, and make a wide circuit to 
let him pass 21 . 

Besides these there are various wild wandering 
tribes, who are regarded with abhorrence by the 
Hindoos. Among the most remarkable of these mi¬ 
gratory hordes are the Curumeru 22 , who are divided 
into three branches. . “ The first is chiefly engaged , 55 
says Dubois, “ in the traffic of salt, to procure which 
they go in bands to the coast, and carry it to the 

20 Description of the Manners, &c. p. 458. 

21 See Buchanan’s Journey through Mysore, vol. ii. p. 272. 

22 Buchanan calls them Curub&ru. Journey through My¬ 
sore, vol. i. p. 395, &c. 


1124 


THE HINDOOS. 


interior of the country on the backs of asses, which 
they have in great droves; and when they have dis¬ 
posed of their cargoes, they reload the beasts with 
the sort of grain in greatest request upon the coast, 
to which they return without loss of time. Thus 
their whole lives are passed in transit, without a 
place of settlement in any part of the land. 

“ The trade of another branch of the Curumeru 
is the manufacture of osier panniers, w icker baskets, 
and other household utensils of that sort, or bamboo 
mats* This class, like the preceding, are compelled 
to traverse the whole country from place to place 
in quest of employment. All of them live under 
little tents, constructed of woven bamboos, three feet 
high, four or five broad, and five or six in length, 
in which they squat, man, wife, and children, and 
shelter themselves from the weather. When they 
find no more work in the district, they fold up 
their tents, and remove to the next population. 

“ These vagabonds never think of saving anything 
for future wants, but spend every day all they earn, 
and sometimes more. They must therefore live in 
grievous poverty, and when their work fails them, 
they have no resource but begging alms. 

“ The third species of Curumeru is generally known 
under the name of Calla-bantru, or 6 Robbers,’ 
and indeed those, who compose this caste are gene¬ 
rally thieves or sharpers by profession and right 
of birth. The distinction of expertness in filching 
belongs to this tribe, the individuals of which it 
consists having been trained to knavery from their 
infancy. They are instructed in no other learning, 
and the only art they communicate to their children 
is that of stealing adroitly, unless we except that of 
being prepared with a round lie 23 , and with a de- 

23 This, however, is an accomplishment in which the Calla- 
bantru by no means enjoy a monopoly. Even the Brahmins 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


125 


termined resolution to endure every sort of torture 
rather than to confess the robberies which are laid 
to their charge. 

“ Far from being ashamed of their infamous pro¬ 
fession, they openly glory in it; and when they have 
nothing to fear they publicly boast with the greatest 
self complacency of the dexterous robberies they have 
committed at various times during their career. Some 
who have been caught and wounded in the act, or 
who have had their nose and ears, or perhaps their 
hand cut off for the offence, exhibit their loss with 
ostentation, as a mark of their intrepidity, and these 
are the men who are generally chosen to be the chiefs 
of their caste. 

“ It is commonly in the dead of the night that 
they commit their depredations. Then they enter the 
villages silently, leaving sentinels at the avenues, 
while others seek out the houses that may be attacked 
with the least danger of detection, and so make 
good their entry and pillage them. This they effect 
without attempting to force open the door, which 
would be a noisy operation, but by quietly cutting 
through the mud wall with a sharp instrument, so 
as to make an opening sufficiently large to pass 
through. The Calla-bantru are so expert in this 
species of robbery, that in less than half an hour 
they will carry off a rich lading of plunder without 

condescend, occasionally, to wield the same kind of weapon. 
(f When the Brahmins find themselves involved in troubles, 
there is no falsehood or perjury which they will not employ for 
the purpose of extricating themselves. Nor is this to be won¬ 
dered at, since they are not ashamed to declare openly that untruth 
and false swearing are virtuous and meritorious deeds when they 
tend to their own advantage . When such horrible morality is 
taught by the theologians of India, is it to be wondered at that 
falsehood should be so predominant among the people ?” Du¬ 
bois, Description, &c.p. 107. 


126 


THE HINDOOS. 


being heard or suspected till daylight discloses the 
villany 24 .’’ 

These Calla-bantru, however, are far from being 
vulgar thieves. In the Musulman kingdoms of 
India, they are authorized by the government, which 
grants them a licence in consideration of receiving 
half the booty. Still, as this contract must be kept 
secret, they are compelled when caught to submit 
without redress to the wounds and mutilations in¬ 
flicted by the magistrate, who is compelled, however, 
to shield from punishment the rogues with whom he 
happens to be in partnership. “ The princes have 
always in their service a great number of Calla- 
bantru, whom they employ in their calling, which is 
that of plundering for their master’s profit. The last 
Musulman prince who reigned in the Mysore had a 
regular battalion of them on service in time of war, 
not for the purpose of fighting in the field, but to 
prowl and infest the enemy’s camp in the night, 
stealing away the horses and other necessaries of 
the officers, spiking the cannon, and acting as spies. 
They were rewarded in proportion to the dexterity 
they displayed in their achievements; and in time 
of peace they were despatched into the various states 
of neighbouring princes, to rob for the benefit of 
their master, besides discharging their ordinary duty 
of spies 25 .” 

But of all the vagrant castes, the Lambadis , 
supposed to be of Mahratta descent, are the most 
dreaded. In time of peace they subsist by dealing 
in corn, but when war breaks out, they hurry, like 
eagles, to the scene of carnage, and hiring their 
numerous herds of bullocks to the army, scatter 
themselves over the country, which they deliver up 

24 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 465, 466. 

25 Idem. p. 466. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


127 


to indiscriminate plunder. Their women have the 
reputation of superior lasciviousness, even in a 
country where wantonness is inherent in the national 
character. Another wandering tribe is that of the 
Dumbaru, or serpent-charmers, who are numerous. 
That of the Pakanaty , who, about one hundred and 
fifty years ago, were driven from society by oppression, 
and led to adopt their present vagrant habits, which 
they will probably never again abandon, are a peace¬ 
ful and innocent race found in the Mysore and 
Telinga country. In the hilly districts near Coimba¬ 
tore there is another singular tribe whose habits and 
manners are thus described by Dr. Buchanan. “ They 
are said to have neither house nor cultivation, but 
catch birds and game, part of which they sell for 
rice. One common article of their food is the white 
ant, or terrnes. They travel about from place to 
place, conveying their baggage and children on asses. 
Every man has also a cow, constructed like a stalking 
horse, by means of which he approaches his game, 
and shoots it with arrows. The Chensu Carir, who 
preserve their native manners, and never come 
among the villages, are said to speak an unintelli¬ 
gible jargon, and have no clothing but the leaves of 
trees. Those who occasionally wander about in the 
cultivated country understand many Telinga words, 
and wear a small slip of cloth to cover their naked¬ 
ness. Others live in little huts near the villages, 
and have a small piece of blanket or cotton cloth to 
cover their nakedness. They are reconciled to the 
other natives, and pay a trifling capitation tax to the 
government. Where the woods are more extensive 
they are terrified at the sight of any civilized being, 
and live absolutely without any clothing, but cover 
their nakedness with a few leaves. In these forests 
they dwell in caves or under bushes, which they make 
a better shelter from the weather by adding small 


128 


THE HINDOOS. 


branches from other trees. When the civilized part 
of this tribe go into the woods to visit their relations, 
or to trade with them, they must throw off their 
rags, lest they should be mistaken for a villager, in 
which case none of the Chensu would approach.” 

“ The language of the Chensu is a dialect of the 
Tamul, with occasionally a few Carnata or Telinga 
words intermixed ; but their accent is so different from 
that of Madras, that my servants did not at first 
understand what they said. Their original country, 
they say, is the Animalya forest below the Ghats, 
which is confirmed by their dialect. Those who live 
in the villages have taken the Pancham Banijigaru 
as their chiefs; they trade chiefly with them, and 
call them their Swamis or lords; but although they 
have learned to invoke the name of Siva, they do not 
wear the lingam. Those in the woods have either 
no religion, or some simple one with which those 
here are unacquainted. The people of this country 
attribute to the Chensu the power of bewitching 
tigers; and my Brahmin gravely informed me that 
the Chensu women, when they went out to procure 
food, left their infants in charge of one of these, 
ferocious beasts. The Chensu of course deny their 
possessing any such power, but allege that the art 
is known to another rude tribe named Soligaru , who 
inhabit the southern Ghauts, which separate this 
country from Coimbatore. The Chensu here live 
upon game, wild roots, herbs and fruits, and a little 
grain, which they purchase from the farmers. They 
are enabled to do this by collecting some drugs, 
honey, and wax. It is on account of their having 
the exclusive privileges of collecting these two last 
articles, that they pay a poll-tax, which is annually 
fifteen fanams, or 10s. 0 \d. for each family 26 .” 

From the above account some idea may be formed 

26 Journey through the Mysore, &c. vol. i. p. 7, 167, 168. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


129 


of the variety of materials which go to the making up 
of Hindoo society. The barriers of caste, we see, 
have in numerous instances been thrown down ; 
intermarriages have taken place ; and a mixed 
multitude has been created, which cannot be said to 
form a portion of any caste. But in reality the 
legislators of India never contemplated the placing 
of an impassable barrier between the various orders 
of society, their only object being to secure supre¬ 
macy to the Brahmins. By the Institutes of Menu, 
the priest is authorized to select his wife from either 
of the three superior castes ; the Kshatriya, also, 
has the liberty to choose from the Vaisya and Sudra 
castes, in addition to his own ; the Vaisya, more 
limited than his superiors, can only carry his views 
over his own and the Sudra castes ; but the Sudra’s 
affections are not permitted to range beyond 27 his 
tribe. However, if any man vehemently desire to 
indulge his passions with a greater latitude, he has 
at hand the following texts for his justification. “A 
believer in scripture may receive pure knowledge 
even from a Sudra; a lesson of the highest virtue 
even from a Chandala; and a woman bright as a 
gem even from the basest family. Even from poison 
may nectar be taken; even from a child, gentleness 
of speech; even from a foe, prudent conduct; and 
even from an impure substance, gold. From every 
quarter, therefore, must be selected women bright 
as gems; knowledge, virtue, purity, gentle speech, 
and various liberal arts 23 .” And to show that these 
unions were not matters of speculation, the law-giver 
describes the ceremonies which are to take place on 

27 u A Sudra woman only must be the wife of a Sudra ; she 
and a Vaisya of a Vaisya ; those two and a Kshatriya of a 
Kshatriya ; those two and a Brahmini of a Brahmin.” Institutes 
of Menu, chap, iii.ver. 13. 

28 Institutes of Menu, chap. ii. ver. 23S — 240 


130 


THE HINDOOS. 


the occasion of such marriages. “ By a Kshatriya 
woman, on her marriage with a Brahmin, an arrow 
must be held in her hand ; by a Yaisya woman with 
a bridegroom of the sacerdotal or military class, a 
whip; and by a Sudra bride, marrying a priest, a 
soldier, or a merchant, must be held the skirt of a 
mantle a V’ Nor are these women of low caste re¬ 
garded, after marriage, as any way inferior to their 
husbands. “ Whatever be the qualities of the man 
with whom a woman is united by lawful marriage, 
such qualities even she assumes, like a river united 
with the sea. Acshamala, a woman of the lowest 
birth, being thus united to Vasisht’ha, and Sarangi 
being united to Mandapala, were entitled to - very 
high honour. These and other females of low 
birth have attained eminence in this world by the 
respective good qualities of their lords 30 .” When 
a man happens, however, to have many wives, a 
difference is made in the distribution of the inherit¬ 
ance among the children. “ The son of a Brahmin, 
or Kshatriya, or a Vaisya by a woman of the servile 
class, shall inherit no part of the estate, unless he be 
virtuous, nor jointly with other sons unless his mother 
was lawfully married: whatever his father may give 
him, let that be his own 31 .” So much for the inter¬ 
marriage of the different castes as authorized by law. 
Whether or not the mass of the people were likely to 
be more rigid on such points than their legislators, 
may be conjectured from the existence of the Varna- 
Sankara 32 , or that multitude of mixed castes whose 
existence has already been proved. 

29 Institutes of Menu, chap. iii. ver. 44. 

30 Idem, chap. ix. ver. 22—24. 

31 Idem, chap. ix. ver. 155 ; Colebrooke’s Two Treatises on 
the Hindu Law of Inheritance, p. 142, &c. 

32 “ During this time of universal impiety and sin,” says Mr. 
Rickards, alluding to the reign of Vena ,“ an intermixture of the 
tribes took place; and from intermarriages, and illegal con- 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


131 


The next point to be considered is the strictly 
hereditary nature of all trades and professions in 
India, which Robertson, assuming the fact of its 
existence, unphilosophically considers favourable to 
the improvement of the arts. Inferior writers, yield¬ 
ing to the instinct of imitation, have unceasingly 
repeated the assertions of Robertson ; and there¬ 
fore the fact, I suppose, is generally taken for 
granted. The question, however, may yet be sub¬ 
jected to another examination. By the Institutes of 
Menu, the Brahmin, unable to subsist by the per¬ 
formance of his professional duties, is permitted to 
become a soldier. The compiler of this ancient code 
appears to experience no “ compunctious visitings 
of nature” at thus putting the sword in the hand of 
the priest for the destruction of his fellow-creatures; 
but when, having placed before him the profession 
of a merchant, as a resource, should he fail in war, he 
comes to enumerate the other modes by which, in 
case of necessity, the Brahmin may subsist, he sud¬ 
denly affects a tone of humanity, and observes, 
“A Brahmin and a Kshatriya, obliged to subsist 
by the acts of a Vaisya, must avoid with care, if 
they can live by keeping herds, the business of til¬ 
lage, which gives great pain to sentient creatures, and 
is dependant upon the labours of others, as bulls and 
so forth. Some are of opinion that agriculture is 
excellent; but it is a mode of subsistence which the 
benevolent greatly blame, for the iron-mouthed pieces 
of wood not only wound the earth, but the creatures 
dwelling in it 33 .” However, there are modes of 

nexions, of the four principal tribes, arose a host of mixed tribes, 
under the general denomination of Burrun-Sunker.” India, 
&c. p. 15, 16. The word Burrun-Sunker is the modern ver¬ 
nacular corruption of the Sanscrit Varna-sankara, i e. “ Mixture 
or confusion of castes.” 

33 Institutes of Menu, chap. x. ver. 83,84. 


132 


THE HINDOOS. 


earning a livelihood still more objectionable than 
wounding the earth, and givingpain to sentient crea¬ 
tures, to which the hapless Brahmin may resort under 
the guidance of hunger; among other things the 
business of a petty dealer is open to him. Cattle¬ 
dealing and the slave-trade are .prohibited. In like 
manner the Kshatriya and the Vaisya, urging the 
plea cf necessity, are permitted to quit the calling of 
their forefathers, and to descend to the professions of 
those beneath them, with the loose caution that they 
are not “ to do what ought never to be done.” Even 
the Sudra, when employment in the service of the 
“ twice born 34 ” is not to be obtained, may subsist by 
handicrafts, or become a painter or copyist 85 . 

But the authority of the Institutes of Menu has at 
present little weight on many points in India. The 
doctrines of the Jatimala , or “ Garland of Classes,’’ an 
extract from the Rudra Yamala Tantra, correspond 
better, on the subject of castes, with usage and the 
received opinions; and according to this work almost 
every profession is open to every man. “A Brah¬ 
min, unable to subsist by his duties, may live by the 
duty of a soldier: if he cannot get a subsistence 
by either of these employments, he may apply to 
tillage, and attendance on cattle, or gain a compe 
tence by traffic, avoiding certain commodities. A 
Kshatriya in distress may subsist by all these 
means; but he must not have recourse to the high¬ 
est functions. In seasons of distress a further 
latitude is given. The practice of medicine and 
other learned professions, painting and other arts, 
work for wages, menial service, alms, and usury are 
among the modes of subsistence allowed to the Brah- 

34 So the three upper castes are called, the investiture with 
the sacred cord to the duties and rights of their respective 
orders being considered as a second birth. 

35 Institutes of Menu, chap.x. ver.98—100. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


133 


min and Kshatriya. A Vaisya, unable to subsist 
by his own duties, may descend to the servile acts of 
a Sudra; and a Sudra, not finding employment by 
waiting on men of the higher classes, may subsist 
by handicrafts, principally following those mechani¬ 
cal occupations, as joinery and masonry; and practi¬ 
cal arts, as painting and writing, by following which 
he may serve men of superior classes; and although 
a man of a lower class is, in general, restricted from 
the acts of a higher class, the Sudra is expressly 
permitted to become a trader or a husbandman. 
Besides the particular occupations assigned to each 
of the mixed classes, they have the alternative of 
following that profession which regularly belongs to 
the class from which they derive their origin on the 
mother’s side: those at least have such an option, 
who are born in the direct order of the classes, as 
the Murdhdbhishicta , AmbashVha, and others. The 
mixed classes are also permitted to subsist by any of 
the duties of a Sudra; that is, by menial service, by 
handicrafts, by commerce, or by agriculture. Hence 
it appears that almost every occupation, though regu¬ 
larly it be the profession of a particular class, is open 
to most other classes, and that the limitations, far 
from being rigorous, do in fact reserve only one pecu¬ 
liar profession, that of the Brahmin, which consists in 
teaching the Veda, and officiating at religious cere¬ 
monies 36 . The same author adds, that the different 
classes now existing in Hindoostan are sufficiently 
numerous, but that “ the subdivisions of classes have 
further multiplied distinctions to an endless variety.” 
That mingling and confounding of the classes, there¬ 
fore, which, according to Robertson, “ would be re¬ 
garded as an act of the most daring impiety,’’ has, 
we find, taken place ; and must, we will add, proceed 
to still greater lengths, before society in India can 

26 Colebrooke, in the Asiatic Researches, vo 1 . v. 63, 64. 

VOL, I. N 


134 


THE HINDOOS. 


be said to stand at its natural level. With respect 
to the invasion of the priestly functions by persons 
of inferior castes, this also happens, and appears 
always to have happened, among the Hindoos. In 
the Institutes of Menu we find it observed that 
“ Viswamitra, the son of Gadhi, acquired the rank 
of a priest, though born in the military class 37 .” 
In modern times the honours of the priesthood are 
shared even by the Sudras. “ Each caste and sect,” 
says Dubois, “has its particular Guru , (or spiritual 
guide and religious preceptor). But all of them are 
not invested with an equal degree of authority. There 
is a gradation among the Gurus themselves, accord¬ 
ing to the dignity of the castes they belong to, and 
a kind of hierarchy has grown up among them, 
which preserves the subordination of one to another. 
In short there is an inferior clergy, very numerous 
in every quarter, while each sect has its particular 
high priests, who are but few in number. The in¬ 
ferior Gurus pay them obedience, and derive their 
power from the superior authority of the priests, who 
can depose them at pleasure, and appoint others in 
their room.” The author proceeds to observe that in 
the sects of Vishnu and Siva, the higher and lower 
clergy are innumerable; and that each subdivision 
of the two sects has its pontiff and corresponding 
Gurus, or priests. He then adds:—“ In the sect of 
Siva, also, each subdivision has its Singhasana , or 
episcopal seat, and its Pit’ha , or places of residence 
of the inferior clergy. The Gurus of this sect are 
known by the names of Pandahram Jcmgamas, and 
others, according to the different idioms of the places. 

37 Institutes of Menu, chap. vii. ver.42. The Karnata Brah¬ 
mins refuse to officiate as pujaris, or priests, for the Pariahs, 
who, in consequence, select from among themselves a kind of 
priests, whom they name velluan. Buchanan, Journey, &c. 
vol. i. p.20; Dubois, p.461. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


135 


The pontiffs, and all the clergy of the sect of Siva, 
are taken out of the tribe of Sudra; but the greater 
part of the high Gurus of Vishnu are Brahmins who 
ordain the inferior clergy pertaining to the sect 38 .” 
From a subsequent remark of the same author, it 
may clearly be inferred that the study of the Vedas 
is now permitted to Sudras; for he informs us, first, 
that a large proportion of the priests are Sudras; 
secondly, that it is the duty of the priests to em¬ 
ploy a part of their time in the study of the sacred 
writings (i. e. the Vedas); therefore the Vedas are 
now placed in the hands of Sudras 3 ®. But not only 
are men of the servile class allowed to participate in 
the honours of this sacred calling, women also, among 
both Sivaites and Vishnuites, have established them¬ 
selves in the sanctuary, to the great scandal, no doubt, 
of the rigid Brahmins. “ In the sects of Siva and 
Vishnu, they admit a kind of priestesses, or women 
specially ordained to the service of their deities. They 
are different from the dancing women of the temples, 
but they follow the same infamous course of life with 
them. For the priestesses of Siva and of Vishnu, 
after being consecrated, become common to their sect, 
under the name of spouses to their divinities 
This fact is confirmed by the testimony of Colonel 
Tod, who observes that “it is not uncommon for 
priestesses to officiate in the temple of Siva.’’ Speak¬ 
ing of the priests of Eklinga, who make profession of 
celibacy, and are called Gosains, or Goswami, this 

38 “After discharging all the duties which their profession 
requires of them towards their disciples, and performing their 
daily sacrifices and ablutions, the Gurus are bound by the rules 
of their order to employ what remains of their time in medita¬ 
tion, and the study of the sacred writings Dubois, p. 71. 

39 Description of the Manners, &c. of the People of India, 
p. 65, 66. 

40 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 71, 72. 


*36 


THE HINDOOS. 


author remarks that both Brahmins and Rajpoots, 
and even Goojers, can belong to this order 41 . Not¬ 
withstanding the institution of castes, by which, in 
the outset, the Sudra was condemned to servile or 
mean occupations, time and chance have operated on 
the Hindoos, both high and low, as upon all other 
men. The Sudra, growing rich and powerful in spite 
of laws which were too absurd to be observed, has in 
various parts of India arrived at sovereign power 42 . 
Among the ancient races of kings who reigned at 
Delhi, a dynasty of Sudra princes is enumerated. 
And, in fact, during the decline of the Hindoo power, 
many Sudra kings reigned in Hindoostan, whose 
descendants appear to have preserved, amidst all the 
shocks which their country has undergone, the dia¬ 
dems, though shorn of their splendour, which were 
won by the virtue or courage of their ancestors. 
“A real Kshatriya prince,” says an author whose 
testimony is of considerable weight, “ is not to be 
found in these days; all the greater princes of India, 
excepting the Paishwa, a Brahmin, are base born 43 .” 
But if the Sudras have thus risen to rank and distinc¬ 
tion, their priestly legislators have, in many, if not in 
most instances, sunk in the same proportion. The 
Brahmins, who pretend that the caste of Kshatriyas 
had become nearly extinct even Before the period of 
the Musulman invasion, assert that the Rajpoots are 
merely a superior class of Sudras. If this be the 

41 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 517. 

42 This extraordinary circumstance had taken place even so 
early as the compilation of the Institutes of Menu. “ Let 
him (a Brahmin) not dwell in a city governed by a Sudra 
king;” saysthe lawgiver, chap. iv. ver.61. Perhaps the thing 
was not at that time uncommon, any more than at present; but 
we call it extraordinary in reference to the opinions generally 
entertained. 

43 Rickards, India, &c. vol. i. p. 29. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


137 


rase, it only the more strongly proves the degradation 
of their own condition, for they are now and have 
for ages been employed by the princes of Mewar, 
in the capacities of butler, keeper of the wardrobe, or 
seneschal, besides the Guru, or domestic chaplain, 
who, to the duty of ghostly comforter, sometimes 
joins that of astrologer and physician, in which case 
“ God help the prince 44 !” The armies of Mewar 
have frequently been recruited by the monastic war¬ 
riors called Gosain, who abound in Rajpootaua, and 
consist in great part of Brahmins. In fact, “Hin- 
doostan abounds with Brahmins who make excellent 
soldiers, as far as bravery is a virtue ; but our officers 
are cautious from experience of admitting too many 
into a troop or company, for they still retain their 
intriguing habits. I have seen nearly as many of 
the Brahmins as of military in some companies; a 
dangerous error 45 .” Many Brahmins, who still con¬ 
tinue to exercise the priestly profession, pretend to 
despise their lay brethren ; but as the latter are often 
the more wealthy, they return with interest the con¬ 
tempt of the priests, and regard them as low persons. 
They do not, however, by any means confine them¬ 
selves to the more genteel professions, but condescend 
to the cultivation of the earth, in which they employ 
Pariahs 46 , and to almost every other trade and calling; 
and this too in a country where the Rajahs are of the 
servile class. To complete the humiliation of these 
proud children of Brahma, we find them driven by 
poverty and hunger, to take refuge, as cooks, in the 
kitchens of Sudras! “This I find is not only the 
case as it respects the Vaisyas, but rich Sudras of 
every order employ Brahmins as cooks; even the 

44 Colonel Tod, Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 511, 512. 

45 Idem, vol. i. p. 28, note. 

46 Buchanan, Journey through the Mysore, &c- vol. ii. p. 19, 
47 vol.iii.p. 5, 10; Ward, vol. i. p. 85. 87. 

N 3 


138 


THE HINDOOS. 


vairagi menO'-^ants procure Brahmins to prepare the 
food at their feasts 47 .” 

From all that has been said it would appear that 
the ideas commonly entertained of the institutions of 
the Hindoos are highly erroneous. It is true that^ 
having the Institutes of Menu before them, several 
able writers have, in many cases, described with suffi¬ 
cient accuracy, the usages, customs, and manners 
which these laws were designed to create. But 
these writers do not, in general, appear to have 
reflected upon the difference that must inevitably 
exist between an Utopian system, like that of Menu 
or Draco, which, from the moment of its promulga¬ 
tion, was found to be almost wholly visionary and 
impracticable, and those real institutions and man¬ 
ners established by time and circumstance ; which 
is, however, so great and striking, and exhibits itself 
in so many particulars, that those who form their 
picture of Hindoo society according to the ancient 
laws, in many respects obsolete, must necessarily 
misrepresent and distort it. What, in fact, does 
it signify that Menu, or rather the compiler of the 
code handed down to us under his name, devoted 
the Sudra to contempt and the Brahmin to honour, 
when, practically, we often find the Sudra a prince, 
and the Brahmin a beggar, subsisting upon the 
bounty of the former, fighting as a common soldier 
in his armies, and in many cases exercising the me¬ 
nial office of cook in his kitchen? Of expulsion from 
caste little need be said in this place: it is put in 
practice for trifling causes, and is reversed with more 
or less difficulty, according to circumstances. The 
rigorous old system is falling into decay, and perhaps 
approaching its end. “ Let us rejoice,” says Ward, 

“ that the rust of those fetters has nearly eaten them 

47 Ward, View of the History, &c. of the Hindoos, vol. i. 
y. 95, note. 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES 


139 


through ; there are indications in the present state of 
Hindoo society, which evince that on account of the 
number of transgressors these barbarous laws cannot 
be much longer enforced. The social impulse is evi¬ 
dently felt as strongly by the Hindoos as by other 
nations ; and this leads those who have formed friend¬ 
ships in the same neighbourhood to join in offering 
mutual pledges of hospitality ; hence, in numerous 
instances, we find that groups of Hindoos of diffe¬ 
rent castes actually meet in secret to eat and smoke 
together, rejoicing in this opportunity of indulging 
their social feelings. There is a strong propensity in 
human nature to pass the bounds prescribed by par¬ 
tial and short-sighted legislators: and in these private 
meetings the parties enjoy a kind of triumph in 
having leaped the fence and in being able to do it 
repeatedly with impunity. Early marriages being 
necessarily acts of compulsion, and against nature, 
it too frequently happens that the affections instead 
of fixing upon the law-given wife,become placed upon 
some one not of the same caste, who is preferred as 
the darling object of uncontrolled choice: here again 
the caste is sacrificed and detested in secret. The 
love of proscribed food in many instances becomes a 
temptation to trespass against the laws of caste: 
many Hindoos of the highest as well as of the lowest 
rank eat flesh, and other forbidden food, and should 
detection follow, the offenders avail themselves of 
the plea, “these are the remains of offerings pre¬ 
sented to my guardian deity.” The yoke of the 
caste becomes still more intolerable through the 
boundless licence*whieh a Hindoo gives to his sen¬ 
sual desires ; and these temptations to promiscuous 
intercourse with all castes of females are greatly 
strengthened by absence from home for months and 
years together, which is the case with thousands, 
especially in Calcutta and other large towns, as well 


140 


THE HINDOOS. 


as throughout the native army: hence cohabiting, 
eating, and smoking with women of other castes is 
so common, that it is generally connived at, espe¬ 
cially as it is generally done at a distance from the 
offenders relations. The very minuteness and intri¬ 
cacy of the rules connected with caste also tend 
powerfully to induce a forfeiture of the privileges it 
bestows : social intercourse among Hindoos is always 
through a path of thorns. Caste is destroyed by 
teaching religious rules to persons of inferior rank, 
by eating, or by intimate friendship with such per¬ 
sons, by following certain trades, by forbidden matri¬ 
monial alliances, by neglecting the customs of the 
caste, by the faults of near relations, &c. &c. And, 
where the caste is not forfeited, in many cases per¬ 
sons are tormented and persecuted to the greatest 
excess. From hence it will appear, that an institution 
the rules of which are at war with every passion of 
the human mind, good as well as evil, must sooner 
or later, especially if the government itself ceases to 
enforce these rules, fall into utter disuse and con¬ 
tempt. The present state of Hindoo society respect¬ 
ing the caste will therefore cease to be a matter of 
wonder. No one will be surprised to hear, that 
although the Hindoos give one another credit, as a 
matter of convenience, for being in possession of 
caste, and though there may be an outward and in 
the higher orders an insolent show of reverence for 
its rules; if the matter were to be searched into, and 
the laws of the caste were allowed to decide, scarcely 
a single family of Hindoos would he found in the 
whole of Bengal whose caste is not forfeited: this is 
well known, and generally acknowledged 48 .” 

48 Ward, View of the History, &c. of the Hindoos, vol. i. 
p. xv.—xvii.—A sagacious writer in the Edinburgh Review long 
suspected that the ideas of ordinary compilers and travellers 
on the subject of caste were highly erroneous. “The artificial 


INSTITUTION OF CASTES. 


141 


and unnatura division of a people into distinct classes is per¬ 
haps the most effectual method that could have been devised 
by the ingenuity of man, to check their improvement and 
repress their industry. Indeed, the natural operation of such 
an institution is so diametrically opposite to, and incompatible 
with the strongest principles of our nature, that we are inclined 
to believe that its existence (in a perfect state) is altogether 
ideal, and if it had ever been completely carried into practice 
the baneful effect would have been so immediate, that the total 
annihilation of public spirit and enterprise would have been 
the inevitable consequence. We therefore cannot help doubt- 
ing, that most authors have, from various obvious reasons, been 
leu to exaggerate a little in their description of this phenome¬ 
non in the constitution of Hindoo society. We are the more 
inclined to adopt this opinion, as we find that many intelligent 
writers do not by any means confirm the perfect separation of 
these castes, in their intercourse with society; and that it is to 
be remarked, that the latter authors who have had the best 
opportunities of observing with accuracy, are those which have 
given us this more probable account.” Edinburgh Review, 
vol.iv. p. 316. 


• * Wisest** 



142 


THE HINDOOS. 


Chapter V 
RELIGION. 

In considering any tribe or family of mankind, our 
view would be eminently imperfect were religion 
omitted; but in the case of the Hindoo the omission 
is impracticable, since it is his religion, and nothing 
else, that renders him what he is. By penetrating, 
therefore, if it. be possible, to the core of his religious 
institutions, by studying the relations which in India 
appear to have always subsisted between sacred 
things and civil, we can alone hope to comprehend 
the Hindoo character. To all inquirers who shall 
neglect this clue it must for ever remain an enigma. 
Independently of this consideration, however, it can 
never be regarded as a matter of trifling curiosity to 
endeavour to comprehend those modes of faith which 
influence the condition of four hundred millions of 
human beings,—more than one-third of the whole 
human race being still Hindoos in religion. But the 
importance of the subject is at least equalled by the 
extreme obscurity which surrounds it. For notwith¬ 
standing the labours of our learned countrymen in 
the East, by which we have been admitted into the 
Hindoo Pantheon, we still grope about the huge 
structure in comparative darkness, amidst myriads of 
gods and goddesses, whose forms and attributes we 
can discern but dimly. Still, by carrying back our 
views to the remotest antiquity, and observing, though 
but by hasty glimpses, the rise and progress of this 
most extraordinary system of religion, we may per¬ 
haps succeed in forming a conception of it which shall 
not be very remote from the truth. 


RELIGION. 


143 

There appears to have existed among all ancient 
nations some faint idea of the one true God, whether 
preserved by tradition, or, which is equally probable, 
created by the efforts of unsophisticated reason. 
Abraham, whose own country and kindred had 
already relapsed into idolatry, found in Egypt, and 
among the Philistines on the coast of Palestine, a 
remarkably pure theism 1 . But no sooner did the 
priests of Egypt begin to reason upon the Great 
First Cause, and its operations upon matter, than 
they committed an error which appears to have some 
natural charm for man, since he has in all ages and 
countries shown a leaning towards it from the priest 
of Memphis down to Spinoza 2 . This is Pantheism, 

1 Jablonski, Pantheon ^Egyptiacum, tom. ii.Proleg. p.x. This 
writer, as well as Hyde (Hist. Rel. Vet. Pers. c. 2), imagines, 
but upon what authority does not appear, that the fame of 
Abraham had reached the Brahmins. His conjecture that the 
Egyptians derived from this great patriarch the rite of circum¬ 
cision, seems to be still more destitute of foundation. However, 
he traces with remarkable felicity the causes and progress of 
idolatry. Even so early as the time of Jacob, the great city of 
On, or Heliopolis, had been erected in honour of the sun, (p. 
xix.) The priests, now greatly multiplied, had extensive estates 
assigned them for their support, which were left by Joseph 
from taxation: an immunity mentioned by Herodotus, (ii. 168.) 
The worship of animals also had begun, in consequence of 
which the Egyptians abstained from eating the flesh of certain 
animals. Hence their hatred of foreign shepherds who killed 
and ate their flocks. However, they offered up in sacrifice 
bulls and calves, but not cows. Herod, ii. 168. 

2 “ An non diceres,” says Jablonski, “ Spinozam sua ab 
hisceiEgyptiis mutuatum esse ?” tom. i. p. 36.—The soul, they 
taught, was a particle of the divine aether, which, without con¬ 
sciousness, animated successively myriads of sentient beings. 
They worshipped brute matter and the elements; and, according 
to Herodotus, (lib. ii. cap. 123,) their eight greater divinities 
were the four elements, the sun, the moon, day, and night: 
mere pantheism. Diogenes Laertius likewise accuses them of 
pantheism. But Jablonski maintains that the more ancient 
Egyptian philosophers believed in one God. This infinite 


144 


THE HINDOOS. 


by which the Deity is confounded with the universe. 
An exactly similar process appears to have taken 
place in Hindoostan. The Upanishads , or doctrinal 
books of the Vedas, in which alone we discover the 
primitive religion of the Hindoos, undoubtedly in¬ 
culcate the belief of one Supreme God, in whom 
the universe is comprehended ; but already had they 
begun to address the Deity by different appellations, 
a practice which was, perhaps, among the first causes 
of polytheism. “ The deities invoked appear, on a 
cursory inspection of the Veda, to be as various as 
the authors of the prayers addressed to them ; but 
according to the most ancient annotations on the 
Indian scriptures, those numerous names of persons 
and things are all resolvable into different titles of 
three deities, and ultimately of one God. The Ni- 
ghantu, or Glossary of the Vedas, concludes with 
three lists of names of deities: the first comprising 
such as are deemed synonymous with fire; the second 
with air; and the third with the sun. In the last 
part of the Niructa 3 , which entirely relates to deities, 
it is twice asserted that there are but three Gods; 

‘ Tisra eva devatah.’ The further inference that 
these intend but one deity is supported by many 
passages in the Veda, and is very clearly and con¬ 
cisely stated in the beginning of the index to the 
Rig-Veda, on the authority of the Niructa, and of 

spirit, which, like the Brahma of the Hindoos, included both 
sexes, is supposed to have been a subtile fire, and was called 
Phtha. Yet the worship of this God, like that of Brahma in 
India, died away. He had, in fact, in all Egypt, but one 
single temple, which was at Memphis. Panth. ./Egypt, tom. i. p. 
31—52. For the opinions of Spinoa, see Buhle, Hist, de 
la Philos. Mod. tom. iii. p. 434—563 ; Brucker, Instit. Hist. 
Phil. p. 822; Tennemann, Man. Hist, de la Phil. tom. ii. p. 
99,102. 

3 An ancient treatise on-the obsolete dialect in which some 
parts of the Vedas are written. 


RELIGION. 


145 


the Veda itself.’’ In this important passage it is 
observed, that “ the deities are only three, whose 
places are the earth, the intermediate region, and 
heaven: namely, fire, air, and the sun. They are 
pronounced to be the deities of the mysterious names 
( Bkur , bhuvah , swar ) severally, and (Prajapati), the 
lord of creatures, is the deity of them collectively. 
The syllable Om 4 , intends every deity; it belongs to 
him who dwells in the supreme abode : it appertains 
to ( Brahma ) the vast one ; to God, to the superin¬ 
tending soul. Other deities belonging to those several 
regions are portions of the [three] gods ; for they are 
variously named and described, on account of their 
different operations: but in fact there is only one 
deity, the Great Soul. He is called the sun, for he is 
the soul of all beings, and that is declared by the 
sage, ‘ the sun is the soul of what moves, and of 
that which is fixed.’ Other deities are portions of 
him: and that is expressly declared by the sage 5 ,” 
&c. This, as Mr. Colebrooke observes, shows, what 

4 This mysterious word, pronounced as written in the text, 
is, according to the Hindoo commentators, composed of three 
letters, a. v. m., representing the three Gods of the Trimurti , 
or Hindoo Trinity. Sir William Jones conjectures that the 
“ Great One” intended by the word Om may be the same with 
the On ofithe Egyptians, that is, the sun. Works, vol. iii. p. 
349, 350. In the Institutes of Menu, the Brahmin is directed 
to mutter to himself this holy syllable, both at the commence¬ 
ment and conclusion of all his lectures on the Vedas, without 
which nothing, it is asserted, will he long retained. Previous 
to this, however, he is expected to sit on the culms of Kusa 
grass {Poa cynosuroides'), with their points towards the east, 
and to suppress his breath thrice. The legislator then informs 
us that “ Brahma milked out , as it were, from the three Vedas, 
the letter A, the letter U, and the letter M, which form by 
their coalition the triliteral monosyllableand adds, a little 
farther on, that this syllable “ is a symbol of God, the Lord of 
created Beings.” Chap. ii. ver. 74, 77, 84. 

5 Colebrooke, ‘on the Vedas:’ Asiat. Res. vol. viii.p 395, &c. 
Compare Menu, chap. xii. ver. 123. 

VOL. I. 


O 


146 


THE HINDOOS. 


is also deducible from various texts of the Hindoo 
scriptures, that the ancient Hindoo religion recog¬ 
nizes but one God, yet not sufficiently discriminating 
the creature from the Creator. 

Among the prayers and hymns of the Yajur- 
Yeda, there are various passages of obscure, irre¬ 
gular sublimity, in which a yearning to inculcate 
the unity of God is clearly distinguishable, in the 
midst of ideas of a pantheistical tendency. “ Fire 
is that original cause; the sun is that; so is air ; 
so is the moon ; such too is that pure Brahm % 
and those waters, and that lord of creatures. Mo¬ 
ments, and other measures of time, proceeded from 
the effulgent person, whom none can apprehend as 
an object of perception, above, around, or in the 
midst. Of him whose glory is so great, there is no 
image; he it is who is celebrated in various holy 
strains. Even he is the God, who pervades all 

8 Brahme, or Brahm , the One Incomprehensible God, must 
by no means be confounded with Brahma , one of the persons 
of the Trimurti. It is generally supposed, and is positively 
asserted by Ward, that no temple has ever been erected in India 
to the true God. Colonel Tod, however, informs us that there 
still exists entire at Cheetore an enormous and costly fabric, 
dedicated to “Brirnha the Creator, not “Brahma.” Being to 
“ the One,” and consequently containing no idol, it may thus 
have escaped the ruthless fury of the invaders. Annals of 
Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 275. The same author supposes that pure 
theism was once found in India, p. 535. He afterwards appears 
to lose sight of the above temple, when, speaking of the nume¬ 
rous shrines round Lake Pohkur, he says, “ By far the most 
conspicuous edifice is the shrine of the Creator Brirnha. . . 

This is the sole tabernacle dedicated to the One God which I 
ever saw or have heard of in India,” p. 774. By Brirnha Colonel 
Tod seems to mean the God properly called Brahma , the first of 
the Hindoo triad, and creator of the universe; and by Brahma, 
(by some writers spelt Brahme or Brahm,') the abstract and im¬ 
personal divine essence, to which no temples seem ever to have 
been erected, and which is not an object of external worship, but 
only of pious meditation. 


RELIGION. 


147 


regions ; he is the first born; it is he who is in the 
womb ; he who is born; and he who will be pro¬ 
duced : he severally and universally remains with all 
persons. He, prior to whom nothing was born, and 
who became all things ; himself the lord of creatures, 
with a body composed of sixteen members, being 
delighted by creation, produced the three luminaries, 
the sun, the moon, and fire. To what God should 
we offer oblations but to him who made the fluid 
sky and solid earth; who fixed the solar orb and 
celestial abode; and who framed drops of rain in 
the atmosphere ? To what God should we offer 
oblations but to him whom heaven and earth men¬ 
tally contemplate, while they are strengthened and 
embellished by offerings, and illuminated by the sun 
rising above them. The wise man views that mys¬ 
terious Being in whom the universe perpetually 
exists, resting on that sole support. In him this 
world is absorbed ; from him it issues; in creatures 
he is twined and wove with various forms of exist¬ 
ence. Let the wise man who is conversant with 
the import of revelation, promptly celebrate that 
immortal Being, the mysteriously existing and various 
abode: he who knows its three states (its creation, 
continuance, and destruction), which are involved 
in mystery, is father of the father. That Brahme 
in whom the gods attain immortality, while they 
abide in the third or celestial region, is our vene¬ 
rable parent, and the providence which governs all 
worlds 7 .” 

In another part of the Veda, which deals in bold 
personifications, the supreme and universal soul is 
introduced pronouncing a hymn in its own praise : 
“ I range with the Rudras, with the Vasus, with the 
Adityas, and the Viswadevas. I uphold both the 
sun and the ocean, the firmament and fir,e, and both 
7 Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. p. 431, 433. 


148 


THE HINDOOS. 


the Aswins. I support the moon, destroyer of foes, 
and the sun, entitled Twashtri, Pushan, or Bhaga. 
I grant wealth to the honest votary who performs 
sacrifices, offers oblations, and satisfies the deities. 
Me, who am queen, the conferrer of wealth, the 
possessor of knowledge, and first of such as merit 
worship, the gods render, universally, present every¬ 
where, and pervader of all beings. He who eats 
food through me, as he who sees, who breathes, or 
who hears through me, yet knows me not, is lost; 
hear then the faith which I pronounce. Even I 
declare this self, who is worshipped by gods and 
men: I make strong whom I choose ; I make him 
Brahma holy and wise. For Rudra, I bend the 
bow, to slay the demon, foe of Brahma; for the 
people I make war on their foes; and I pervade 
heaven and earth. I bore the father on the head of 
this universal mind; and my origin is in the midst 
of the ocean; and therefore do I pervade all beings, 
and touch this heaven with my form. Originating 
all beings, I pass like the breeze; I am above this 
heaven, beyond this earth; and what is the great 
one, that am I 8 .’’ 

This doctrine, which, whether originally imported 
from India or not, has always found advocates in 
Europe, has been condensed with singular felicity 
into a very small number of lines in the Essay on 
Man :— 

‘‘ All are but parts of one stupendous whole, 

Whose body nature is, and God the soul, 

That, changed through all, and yet in all the same; 

Great in the earth as in the ethereal frame; 

Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, 

Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees, 

Lives through all life, extends through all extent. 

Spreads undivided, operates unspent; 

* Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. p. 403. 


RELIGION. 


149 


Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part. 

As full as perfect in a hair as heart; 

As full, as perfect, in vile man that mourns, 

As the rapt seraph that adores and burns : 

To him no high, no low, no great, no small ; 

He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all*.” 

The theory contained in the above lines is so 
strikingly expressive of what the Hindoos think and 
believe on this subject, that, when they were read 
on the banks of the Ganges to Gopala, a learned 
Brahmin, he started from his seat, begged a copy 
of them, and declared that the author must have 
been a Hindoo 10 . 

Thus we perceive that, according to the ancient 
religion of India, matter and all the phenomena of 
this visible universe have their root in the Deity, 
who is the soul of all, of man as well as of the world. 
The gods, as well as the universe, the elements and 
all created beings, are mere emanations from the 
Great One, in whom, when they shall have sported 
for awhile, like shadows, upon the theatre of this 
unsubstantial world, they will again be absorbed 
and lost. But, if every thing that exists be but an 
emanation from God, a visible manifestation of the 
invisible essence, a form, in short, of the Divinity 
himself, where is the impiety of setting up the water, 
the fire, the air, the earth as an object of worship ? 

“ Is not the seat of Jove, earth, sea, and air, 

And heaven and virtue P Where would we farther seek 
The God ? Where’er we move, whate’er we see 
Is Jove 11 !” 

Such were the ideas necessarily flowing from the 

9 Pope’s Essay on Man, book i. ver. 244—257. 

10 Ward, View of the History, &c. of the Hindoos, voi. i. 
Introd. p. lvii. 

11 Speech of Cato in Lucan. 

o 3 


THE HINDOOS. 


1£0 

original creed, which, sublime as it was, and pious 
in intention, differed in no respect from modern pan¬ 
theism, that led to the worship of the elements. This 
modification of the primitive system had already taken 
place at the era of the composition of the Vedas, which, 
according to many learned writers, are not much more 
modern than the Pentateuch 12 : for those religious 
rhapsodies abound with hymns to the water, fire, &c. 

Of all the elements, Water, from which the universe 
is said to have been created, is by the Hindoos ac¬ 
counted the most holy. To this the Brahmin, after 
bathing soon after dawn in the Ganges, still ad¬ 
dresses his prayers. “ O waters!” says he, “ since 
ye afford delight, grant us present happiness, and the 
rapturous sight of the supreme God. Like tender 
mothers, make us here partakers of your most aus¬ 
picious essence. We became contented with your 
essence, with which ye satisfy the universe. Waters ! 
grant it unto us. v Or, as otherwise expounded, the 
third text may signify,—“ Eagerly do we approach 
your essence, which supports the universal abode. 
Waters ! grant it unto us.” In the Agni-Purana, the 
ablution is otherwise directed:—“At twilight let a 
man attentively recite the prayers addressed to water, 
and perform an ablution by throwing water on the 
crown of his head, on the earth, towards the sky; 
again towards the sky, on the earth, on the crown of 
his head, on the earth, again on the crown of his 
head, and lastly on the earth 13 .” Among the early 
philosophers of Greece, more particularly of the Ionic 
school, water was regarded as the first principle of 
all things, though mind or intellect was introduced 
creating the whole universe out of this primeval 
element. Matter, therefore, among the Pagans of 
the west, was regarded as eternal; and the Hindoos, 

12 See Colebrooke, in the Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. p. 
489, &c. . 

* i ® Asiatic Researches, vol. v. p. 347. 


RELIGION. 


151 


following the doctrine of their Vedas, likewise admit 
this opinion u . In fact, regarding matter as an ema¬ 
nation from God, as a visible form of his essence, 
they could do no otherwise. 

Fire, the most active, the most terrible, and, at the 
same time, the most ethereal of the elements, early 
obtained a distinguished place in the Hindoo Pan 
theon. Agni, the god who presides over this element, 
is represented as a corpulent man riding on a goat. 
His hair, beard, eyebrows, and eyes, resemble bur¬ 
nished copper in colour; his breast is of the hue of the 
dawn ; he holds a spear in his right hand, a bead-roll in 
his left; and from his body issue a thousand streams 
of glory 15 . He has neither temples nor images, but is 
worshipped in the daily ceremonies of the Brahmins, 
and in his honour a perpetual fire like that of Vesta is 
preserved. The following prayer to be used in ad¬ 
dressing this divinity occurs in the White Yajur-Veda. 
“ For opulence and wisdom I solicit this wonderful 
lord of the altar, the friend of Indra, most desirable 
(fire): may this oblation be effectual. Fire! make 
me this day wise by means of that wisdom, which 
the gods and the fathers worship: be this oblation 
efficacious. May Varuna grant me wisdom ; may 
fire and Prajapati confer on me sapience ; may Indra 
and air vouchsafe me knowledge; may Providence 
give me understanding: be this oblation happily 
offered ! May the priest and the soldier both share 
my prosperity; may the gods grant me supreme 
happiness: to thee who art that felicity be this obla¬ 
tion effectually presented 16 .’’ 

14 Ward, vol. i. Introd. p. 72. 

15 Ward, vol. i. Introd. p. 83,84. “ There seems,” says this 

author, “to be no order of females among the Hindoos resembling 
the Vestal virgins; hut many Hindoo women, at the total wane 
of the moon, to fulfil a vow, watch for twenty-four hours over a 
lamp made with clarified butter, and prevent its being extin¬ 
guished till the time for the appearance of the new moon.” 

16 Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. p. 433, 434. 


152 


THE HINDOOS. 


According to the views of the Abbe Dubois, who, 
on this subject, may be consulted with advantage, 
the worship of the earth preceded that of water. 
“ Earth” says he, “ is the element from which all 
the productions most necessary to man proceed. 
From her bosom are collected the grain and the 
plants which serve for his nourishment. She is the 
universal mother of all living creatures. She is 
therefore the first of the gods: she is Brahma. 
But without the seasonable visitation of the rain 
and the dews, in a land hot and without water, the 
labours of the husbandman would be fruitless, and 
the soil, now so exuberant in its increase, would 
become barren and deserted. Water is the great 
preserver of whatever the earth engenders, or makes 
to germinate with life. Water with all its blessings 
has therefore become the second god of the Hindoos, 
and holds the honours of Vishnu. But what could 
the sluggish earth, even with the aid of the water, 
so uncongenial and cold in its nature, have effected 
in their sterile union but for the fire, the principal of 
warmth, which came to vivify and quicken the mass ? 
Without thig enlivening element, the chilled plants 
would have refused to show their gay attire, or to 
acquire the maturity necessary to constitute a fit ali¬ 
ment for man. But Fire not only invigorates all 
animated nature, and developes every thing to its 
utmost perfection, but it also accelerates dissolution 
and decay,—a process not less necessary, because 
from corruption nature is restored and germinates 
afresh. Fire, therefore, has contributed as much as 
the other elements, and equally deserves the general 
adoration and worship which have bestowed on it the 
title and honours of Siva 17 .” The same author 
observes that, in ancient times, the worship of the 
elements among the Hindoos was in all probability 

17 Dubois, Description of the Manners, &c. of the Hindoos* 
"p. 375, 376. 


RELIGION. 


153 


consecrated by temples erected to their service, though 
he had never been able to discover that any vestiges « 
of such buildings remained. According to Abraham 
Roger, however, there was yet standing in his time, 
in a district bordering on the coast of Coromandel, 
a temple erected in honour of the five elements. And 
there are still at Benares several small structures in 
honour of fire, where a perpetual flame is maintained, 
which may be regarded as so many chapels conse¬ 
crated to this element. The code of laws attributed 
to Menu makes frequent allusion to the worship of 
fire, which in more modern times came, as we shall 
presently see, to be vulgarly confounded with Siva. 

To the adoration of the elements 18 , succeeded that 
of the stars and the planets, which, of all forms of 
Paganism, is perhaps the least reprehensible, and the 
most natural. For to the rude, untutored eye, the 
“ Host of Heaven,” clothed in that calm beauty 
which distinguishes an oriental night, might well 
appear to be instinct with some divine principle, 
endowed with consciousness, and the power to in¬ 
fluence, from its throne of unchanging splendour 
on high, the fortunes of transitory mortals. There 
is, as all contemplative minds must often have felt, 
a religious beauty in the night, which, in the absence 
of a purer religion, might be easily moulded into 
idolatry. The feelings which arise in the unin¬ 
structed mind, at such a season, are thus embo¬ 
died by one of the authors of the Vedas, in a 
Hymn to Night. “ Night approaches illumined with 
stars and planets, and, looking on all sides with 
numberless eyes, overpowers all meaner lights. The 

18 The worship of the planets, which formed a remarkable 
feature in the early religion of Egypt, in process of time fell 
into desuetude. Jablonski, tom. i. pt. ii.p. 126. See in the same 
writer, p. 135, the curious fancies of the ancients respecting the 
colour of the planets. 


154 


THE HINDOOS. 


immortal goddess pervades the firmament, covering 
the low vallies and shrubs, and the lofty mountains 
and trees, but soon she disturbs the gloom with celes¬ 
tial effulgence. Advancing with brightness at length 
she recalls her sister morning; and the nightly 
shade gradually melts away. May she at this time be 
propitious ! She in whose early watch we may calmly 
recline in our mansions, as birds repose on the trees. 
Mankind now sleep in their towns; now herds and 
flocks peacefully slumber, and winged creatures, even 
swift falcons and vultures. O night! avert from us the 
she-wolf and the wolf; and, oh ! suffer us to pass thee 
in soothing rest! Oh morn ! remove in due time this 
black, yet visible overwhelming darkness, which at 
present infolds me, as thou enablest me to remove 
the cloud of their dells. Daughter of heaven, I ap¬ 
proach thee with praise, as the cow approaches her 
milker; accept, O night! not the hymn only, but the 
oblation of thy suppliant who prays that his foes may 
be subdued 19 .” 

But among the heavenly bodies, the Sun, re¬ 
garded by ancient nations as the great pervading 
soul of the universe, vindicates to itself the most dis¬ 
tinguished place. To this great luminary, or per¬ 
haps to the God who was supposed to preside over 
it, and to have his dwelling therein, is addressed the 
Gayatri, or “ Holiest Text,” of the Vedas : “ Let us 

MEDITATE ON THE ADORABLE LIGHT OF THE DIVINE 

ruler: may it guide our intellects 20 .” Accord¬ 
ing to another text of the sacred books, which appears 
to have been regarded by Sir William Jones as expla- 

19 Extracts from the Vedas, Works of Sir William Jones, 
vol.xvii. p. 380, 381. 

20 Mr. Colebrooke, Asiat. Res. viii. p. 400. Compare Ram 
Mohun Roy, ‘on divine worship by means of the G(tyatri,Mn 
his ‘ Translation of several principal books, &c. of the Vedas,’ 
p. 109—118. 


RELIGION. 


155 


natory of the Gayatri, the prayer contained in this 
“ Holiest Text” is not addressed to the sun, but the 
Deity. “ What the sun and light are to this visible 
world, that are the supreme good and truth to the 
intellectual and visible universe; and as our corpo¬ 
real eyes have a distinct perception of objects enlight¬ 
ened by the sun, thus our souls acquire certain know¬ 
ledge, by meditating on the light of truth which 
emanates from the being of beings: that is the light 
by which alone our minds can be directed in the path 
to beatitude.” 

The same writer supposes that not only Krishna 21 , 
but the three gods of theTrimurti also, were identical 
with the sun. “ I am inclined, indeed, to believe 
that not only Krishna, or Vishnu, but even BrahmS, 
and Siva, when united, and expressed by the mystical 
word, OM, were designed by the first idolaters to 
represent the solar fire ; but Phoebus, or the orb of 
the sun personified, is adored by the Indians as the 
god Surya, whence the sect, who pay him particular 
adoration, are called Sauras. Their poets and pain¬ 
ters describe his car as drawn by seven green horses, 
preceded by Aruna, or the dawn, who acts as his cha¬ 
rioteer, and followed by thousands of Genii worship¬ 
ping him and modulating his praises 2,2 .” To speak 
the truth, the Vedas themselves are full of incohe¬ 
rence on this point, now appearing to discriminate 
between the Deity and his great visible minister, and 
now completely confounding them. “ The conclud¬ 
ing prayer is subjoined to teach the various manifes¬ 
tations of that light, which is the sun himself. It is 
Brahma, the Supreme Soul. The sun, says Yaj- 
nyawalkya, is Brahma; this is a certain truth re¬ 
vealed in the sacred upanishads , and in various 

21 Extracts from the Vedas, Works of Sir William Jones, 
vol. xiii. p. 367. 

22 Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p.262. 


156 


THE HINDOOS. 


sdkhas (divisions) of the Vedas. So the Bhavishya- 
Purana, speaki-ng of the sun: ‘ Because there is none 
greater than he, nor has been, nor will be, therefore 
he is celebrated as the Supreme Soul in all the 
Vedas’ 23 .” 

Notwithstanding these exalted ideas of the solar 
power, the worship of water, in the present ritual of 
the Brahmins, precedes that of the sun. But when 
the primeval element has been adored, with due cere¬ 
monies, the Brahmin proceeds to worship the sun, 
standing on one foot, and resting the other against 
his ankle or heel. In this posture, with his face 
towards the east, and holding his hand open before 
him in a hollow form, he pronounces inaudibly the 
following prayer:—“ The rays of light announce 
the splendid fiery sun, beautifully rising to illumine 
the universe. He rises, wonderful, the eye of the 
sun, of water, and of fire, collective power of gods ; 
he fills heaven, earth, and sky, with his luminous 
net; he is the soul of all, which is fixed or locomo¬ 
tive. That eye, supremely beneficial, rises pure from 
the east; may we see him a hundred years; may 
we live a hundred years; may we hear a hundred 
years. May we be preserved by the divine power, 
contemplating heaven above the region of darkness, 
approach the deity, most, splendid of luminaries.” 
The following prayer may also be subjoined: “ Thou 
art self-existent, thou art the most excellent ray; thou 
givest effulgence: grant it unto me 24 .” The wor¬ 
ship of this god is more particularly celebrated on 
Sunday, at sun-rise, in the month of Magha. Those 
persons who adopt this god as their guardian deity, 
and are called Sauras , never eat until they have wor¬ 
shipped the sun, and fast when it is entirely covered 
with clouds. Among the numerous appellations of 

23 Asiatic Researches, vol. v. p. 352. 

24 Idem, p. 355. 


RELIGION. 


157 


this god are Dyumani , “ the Gem of the Sky 
Tarani , “ the Saviour Grahapati, “ the Lord of 
the Starsand Mitra , “ the Friend,” understood to 
mean friend of the water-lily, which expands itself at 
the rising of the sun, and when he retires shuts up 25 . 

But, besides the sun, all the other heavenly bodies 
are worshipped:—the planets, the constellations, the 
signs of the Zodiac, the stars in general, and in par¬ 
ticular the star Canopus, which, by the Hindoos, is 
denominated “the Sage.” Of this mighty host, 
some are adored during the festivals of the other 
gods, others separately. The constellations are 
chiefly worshipped on the birth of children, and on 
the anniversary of their birth-day. The destinies of 
mortals are supposed by the Hindoos to be regulated 
by the influence of the stars. Those among them 
who happen to be born under an evil planet are 
often filled with melancholy and abandon themselves 
to despair, regarding it as useless to watch over an 
existence connected with such fatal omens 26 . 

The planets, to whom a small offering is always 
presented during the great festivals, are frequently 
worshipped separately by the sick or unfortunate. 
The ceremonies, which are the same as on other occa¬ 
sions, close with a burnt-offering to each of the nine 
planets. The gifts accompanying the worship of the 
different planets are various : at that of the sun, a 
milch cow ; of the moon 27 , a shell; of Mars, a bull; 

28 Ward, vol.iii. p. 32—35. 

26 Idem, p. 62, 63. 

27 The Moon, in the Hindoo Mythology, is masculine, and 
its image is that of a white man, drawn by ten horses, or sit¬ 
ting on a water-lily. Ward, vol. iii. p.64. Among the ancient 
Egyptians, also, the Moon was a masculine divinity. Jablonski, 
Proleg. tom. ii. p. xl. Creuzer (Religions de l’Ant., book iv. 
cap. 3,) has, with great industry, collected scattered notices of 
the ancients on the worship of the god Lurms , which prevailed 
in all Asia Minor, Albania, and even in Syria. He was repre- 

VOL. I, P 


158 


THE HINDOOS 


of Mercury, a morsel of gold; of Jupiter, a piece of 
cloth; of Venus, a horse; of Saturn, a black cow, 
of Rahu, a piece of iron; and of Ketu, a goat. The 
officiatin g Brahmin puts on garments of divers colours, 
and offers up different kinds of flowers, as he passes 
from the worship of one planet to that of another. To 
these deities must be added Indra, “ the god with a 
thousand eyes,’’ who is nothing but a personification 
of the visible heavens. The worship of Indra is an¬ 
nually celebrated, on the 14th of the lunar month 
Bhadra, and is accompanied by singing, music, and 
dancing. The greater number of the devotees are 
women. On the day of the festival, when fourteen 
kinds of fruit are offered to the god, a few blades of 
durva grass (Agrostis linearis ) are bound round the 
right arm of the male, and the left of the female 
worshippers. In the heaven of Indra, all the pillars, 
alluding to the nightly beauty of the firmament, are 
composed of diamonds, while the palaces, with their 
couches and ottomans, are of pure gold. The whole 
is so richly ornamented with all kinds of precious 
stones, such as the jasper, opal, the chrysolite, the 
topaz, the sapphire, and the emerald, that its splen¬ 
dour exceeds the commingled brightness of twelve 
suns. Beneath the arched root “fretted with golden 
fires,” are innumerable forests and gardens abound¬ 
ing with flowers whose fragrance fills all heaven:— 

(C The winds, perfumed, the balmy gale convey 

Through heaven, through earth, and all th’ aerial way 28 .” 

This heaven is the dwelling-place of gods and sages, 
who are constantly entertained with music, dances, 

sented on the medals of the Asiatic cities as a young man, 
wearing a Phrygian bonnet, or bearing a crescent on his fore¬ 
head. His worship still subsisted, so late as the time of Cara 
call a, at Carrhae in Mesopotamia. Spartian. in Carac. cap. 6, 7. 

26 Iliad, book xiv. ver. 199, 200. 


RELIGION. 


159 


and songs, and every species of pleasure and de¬ 
light 29 . 

Anterior to the religion of the Brahmins, and co¬ 
eval with the primitive worship of the elements, 
planets, and constellations, was an extraordinary form 
of superstition, which may be denominated demon 
worship 30 . Traces of this strange system are still 
discoverable in the wilder and more remote parts of 
the Dekkan. The Telinga Banijigaru, who are said 
to be pure Sudras, and are enumerated among the 
followers of Vishnu, have little real faith in the 
Brahminical creed, for in cases of danger they in¬ 
variably recur to their original faith, and offer bloody 
sacrifices to several destructive spirits. Publicly the 
Brahmins affect to abhor this kind of worship, and 
denominate all these gods of the vulgar, Saktis , “ evil 
spirits,” or ministers of Siva. They refuse to act as 
their Pujaris (i e. priests), or to offer sacrifice at their 
temples. “ Influenced, however, by superstition, 
although they condemn the practice, they in sickness 
occasionally send a small offering of fruit or money 
to these deities ; but being ashamed to do it publicly, 
the present is generally conveyed by some child, who 
may be supposed to have made the offering by mis¬ 
take. The small temples of these deities are very 

29 Ward, vol.iii. p. 29, 30. 

3 ° « The worship of aerial beings, under the general name 
of spirits, is easily accounted for from the proneness of man¬ 
kind to superstitious fears respecting invisible existence, and 
from the notion found in the Hindoo writings, that every form 
of animated existence has its titular divinity presiding over it. 
These appear to have been the first gods worshipped in India, 
though such a system of mythology could in no way account 
for the existence and government of the universe; which ex¬ 
hibited a process for which this system made no provision. This 
might therefore induce later Hindoo theologians to add three 
new gods, under the character of the Creator, the Preserver, 
and the Destroyer:—Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva.” Ward, 
vol.i. Introd. p. 73. 


160 


THE HINDOOS. 


numerous, and the Pujaris are in general of the im¬ 
pure castes. I am inclined indeed to believe that they 
are the original gods of the country; and that these 
impure castes are the remains of the rude tribes that 
occupied the country before the origin of the Brah¬ 
mins, or other sects that introduced forms of worship 
more complicated, and rriore favourable to the priest¬ 
hood 31 . 

The Commas, another tribe in the Dekkan, have 
never adopted the Brahminical creed. They have 
neither priests nor sacred order. In times of affliction 
they chiefly invoke Vencati Ramana, the Tripat’hi 
Vishnu, to whom they vow small offerings of money. 
In the depths of their woods and forests, they fre¬ 
quently sacrifice various animals to Muni, a male 
deity, said to be a servant of Siva. They neither 
possess nor worship images. “Once in two or three 
years the Coramas of a village make a collection 
among themselves, and purchase a brass pot, in 
which they put five branches of the Melia azadi- 
rachta , and a cocoa-nut. This is covered with flowers, 
and sprinkled with sandal-wood water. It is kept 
in a small temporary shed for three days, during 
which time the people feast and drink, sacrificing 
lambs and fowls to Marima, the daughter of Siva. 
At the end of the three days, they throw the pot into 
the water 32 .’ 

Among the Palliwanlu , who have erected temples 
to Mutialima, one of the feminine destructive powers 
named SaJctis, the bloody sacrifices are performed of 
cutting off the animal’s head before the door of the 
temple, and invoking the deity to partake of the 
victim. There is no altar, nor is the blood sprinkled 
on the image; the slaughtered animal serves the 
votaries for a feast. The priests of these temples, 

31 Buchanan, Journey through Mysore, &c. vol. i. p.242,243. 

32 Buchanan, f Journey, &c. vol. i. p.250. 


RELIGION. 


161 


who are not Brahmins, can neither read nor write; 
but their office is hereditary. 

The Woddaru , a tribe of Telinga origin, who 
dig canals, excavate wells, and tanks, and construct 
roads, are also worshippers of the Saktis. The image 
of their goddess Yellama is constantly carried about 
with them when they travel, and they annually cele¬ 
brate a feast of three days in her honour. During 
the festival the image is placed in a temporary chapel, 
and one of the tribes officiates as priest. Offerings 
of brandy, palm wine, rice, and flowers are made to 
the goddess, and bloody sacrifices are offered up be¬ 
fore the chapel. The flesh, however, of the victims 
is not eaten 33 . 

The Morasu, another tribe of theTelingana nation, 
said to be of the Sudra caste, worship one of the 
Saktis, called Kala Bhairava, which signifies the 
Black Dog. The temple of the sect is at Sitibutta, 
near Calanore. The shrine being very dark, the 
votaries, who are admitted no further than the door 34 , 
know not exactly the form of the image, but it is 
supposed, to represent a man on horseback. The 
animals sacrificed are eaten by the votaries, but the 
priest never joins in the feast. To this god a very 
singular offering is made. When a young woman 
has borne several children, terrified lest the angry 
deity should deprive her of her offspring, she goes to 
the temple, and, as an offering to appease his wrath, 
cuts off one or two of the fingers from her right 
hand. The Morasu sacrifice to the other female 

33 Buchanan, Journey, &c. vol. i. p.262, 312, 315. 

34 There was at Sicyon, a temple of Venus, into which none 
but the priestess and her attendant was allowed to enter. The 
votaries , like those of Kala Bhairava, stood upon the threshold of 
the temple, and from thence addressed their prayers to the god¬ 
dess. Pausan. lib. ii. cap. 10. The priestess was a virgin, from 
which Larcher conjectures that the goddess was Venus Urania. 
Memoire sur Venus, p. 68. 


162 


THE HINDOOS. 


Saktis, but pray neither to Vishnu nor Siva, nor 
have they any priests 35 . A Purohita, or family 
priest, from another tribe officiates at marriages, 
and during the ceremonies which they celebrate an¬ 
nually, and at the new moons in honour of the manes 
of their ancestors. 

It would seem that when the Brahmins subjugated 
the rude tribes of Southern India, the diffusion of their 
creed by no means kept pace with the increase of their 
political power. Each nation appears to have retained 
its primitive faith. And the Brahmins, by a process 
not uncommon in the history of mankind, instead of 
imposing their own opinions, have been influenced 
by the superstition of their nominal converts, whose 
gods they have adopted; and as these are of a malig¬ 
nant nature, the Brahmins, to save appearances, 
denominated them servants of Siva, the power of 
destruction. “ When in sickness and distress they 
invoke with fear and trembling the power of Bhairava, 
and of the female Saktis; who were formerly, perhaps, 
considered by the natives as the malignant spirits of 
the woods, mountains, and rivers; and worshipped 
by sacrifices, like the gods of the rude tribes which 
now inhabit the hilly region east of Bengal, and 
whose poverty has hitherto prevented the incursions 
of the sacred orders of their more learned western 
neighbours 36 .’ > 

Of these wild aboriginal tribes of the south, some 
appear never to have adopted the dogma of the im¬ 
mortality of the soul 37 ; others “believe that after 
death wicked men become devils, and that good men 
are born again in a human form. The spirits of men 
who die without having married, become Virika 38 ; 

35 Buchanan, Journey, &c. vol. i.p. 319. 

36 Idem, p. 320. 

37 As, for example, the Mucuas. Buchanan, vol. ii. p.528. 

38 The worship of these spirits, the Virika , does not extend 


RELIGION. 


163 


and to their memory have small temples and images 
erected, where offerings of cloth, rice, and the like, 
are made to their manes. If this be neglected, they 
appear in dreams, and threaten those who are forget¬ 
ful of their duty. These temples consist of a heap 
or cairn of stones, in which the roof of a small 
cavity is supported by two or three flags; and the 
image is a rude shapeless stone, which is occasionally 
oiled, as in this country all other images are 39 .” 

In Coimbatore, the Sivaites, when afflicted with 
illness, make vows to ornament the temple of the 
Sakti, who is supposed to cause the disease ; and if 
they recover, suspend an image of a child or a horse 
made of potter’s clay in the court of the shrine. 
Among the Mucuas , Bhadra Kali, one of the female 
Saktis, represented by a log of wood, is propitiated 
four times a year by the sacrifice of a cock, and 
offerings of fruit. These Saktis, or destructive spi¬ 
rits, are supposed to live in the stars, clouds, and 
lower regions of the heavens, or even in the heavens 
on Maha-Meru, the sacred mountain in Hindoo my¬ 
thology. In Tulava , the Brahmins, adopting the 
more ancient superstition of the country, act as 
priests in the temples of these spirits, but being 
averse to the shedding of blood, they offer up sacri¬ 
fices of paste, made in the form of animals 40 . 

Bhuta , the general name by which these malevo¬ 
lent spirits are distinguished, also signifies Element, 
from which it may be conjectured that they are wor¬ 
shipped as the “Lords of the Elements.” In many 
parts of India no other form of religion is admitted. 
This is the case in “ that long chain of mountains 
which extend on the west of the Mysore, where the 

to the south of the Cavery. It is, in fact, a local superstition. 
Buchanan, ii. 120. 

39 Buchanan, vol.i. p. 359. 

40 Buchanan, Journey, &c. vol. ii. p.330, 528; iii. 78, 92. 


164 


THE HINDOOS. 


greater part of the inhabitants practise no other wor¬ 
ship than that of the devil. Every house and each 
family has its own particular Bhuta, who stands for 
its tutelary god; and to whom daily prayers and pro¬ 
pitiatory sacrifices are offered, not only to incline him 
to withhold his own machinations, but to defend them 
from the evils which the Bhutas of their neighbours 
or enemies might inflict. In those parts, the image 
of the demon is everywhere seen, represented in a 
hideous form, and often by a shapeless stone. Each 
of these fiends has its particular name; and some, 
who are more powerful and atrocious than others, 
are preferred in the same proportion 41 .” 

The victims commonly offered to these demons are 
buffaloes, hogs, rams, and cocks. When rice is offered 
it must be tinged with blood, and of flowers the red 
only, as appearing to be blood-stained, are presented 
to them. They are likewise propitiated with inebri¬ 
ating drinks. This demon-worship, of which traces 
are to be found even in the Veda, chiefly prevails in 
deserts, remote and solitary places, and in the wild 
inaccessible gorges of the mountains. In such posi¬ 
tions the ideas of men are generally gloomy. Nature 
presents itself to their eyes clothed in awful forms. 
Silence broods ove* the scene, or the tempest, suc¬ 
ceeding to silence, roars through their caverns and 
forests. Each hill and forest and cavern, by de¬ 
grees obtains its presiding spirit, and the infernal 
mythology is established. To this ancient super¬ 
stition, which is still more widely diffused in India 
than is generally supposed, succeeded the worship 
of Brahma, invented by those Brahmins, who were 
so renowned among the nations of antiquity for 
their sanctity and wisdom. The era of the esta¬ 
blishment of this religion cannot be ascertained, but 

41 Dubois, Description of the Manners, &c. of the People 
of India, p. 451, 452. 


RELIGION. 


165 


it may be supposed to have been anterior, by many 
ages, to the composition of the Vedas, which would 
seem to have been an attempt to combine into one 
system the incongruous elements of the popular 
superstitions. This, however, has been thought by 
some writers to have been the original religion of 
India. Yielding to the suggestions of their imagi¬ 
nations, or rather adopting without reflection from 
the poets ideas which are tolerable only in poetry, 
they have represented to themselves a race of men 
“ clothed with innocence and piety, who offered to 
Brahma sacrifices as pure as their hearts, the first- 
fruits of the fields, and the milk of their flocks and 
herds 42 .” 

No bloody sacrifices were offered to Brahma, be 
cause this god, being regarded as the Creator 43 of the 
Universe, could not be conceived to delight in the 
destruction of the beings which he had formed. The 
worship of Brahma afforded too little employment 
to the Brahmins to be allowed long to prevail. It 
seems quickly to have become obsolete, or rather to 
have sunk into a subordinate superstition, little re¬ 
garded in the midst of more showy material systems. 
At present there are no temples to this god in India, 
nor does any person adopt him as his guardian deity; 
though the Brahmins in their daily devotions repeat 
an incantation, containing a description of his image, 
and as an act of worship present him with a single 

42 Creuzer, Religions de l’Antiquite, tom. i. p. 140. 

43 Sir William Jones, on the Gods of Greece, Italy, and 
India, Asiat. Res. i. 241—245. Paterson, in his Essay on the 
Origin of the Hindoo Religion, speaks of the “ annihilation of 
the sect and worship of Brahma.” Asiat.Res. viii. 47. But, 
whatever may have been the fate of his sect, his worship still, 
in a certain degree, continues to prevail in India. Creuzer seems 
to have been deceived by this passage, for, speaking of the 
paramount influence of Sivaism, he says —“ Les traces meme 
du cultede Brahma furent effacees.” Rel.del’Ant.tom.i.p. 141. 


186 


THE HINDOOS, 


flower. A small quantity of clarified butter is like¬ 
wise presented to him at the time of a burnt-offering’. 
An annual festival in his honour is celebrated in the 
month Magha, at the full of the moon; on which 
occasion an earthen image of the god, with Siva on 
his right hand and Vishnu on his left, is worshipped 
with songs, dances, and music ; and on the morrow 
the three gods are thrown together into the Ganges. 
In a mysterious passage of the Yajur-Veda, Brahma 
is spoken of after his emanation from the golden egg, 
as experiencing fear at being alone in the universe * 
he therefore willed the existence of another, and in¬ 
stantly he became masculo-feminine 44 . The two 
sexes thus existing in the god, were immediately, by 
another act of volition, divided in twain, and became 
man and wife. This tradition seems to have found 
its way into Greece, for the Androgyne of Plato is 
but another version of this oriental mythus. 

Upon the decay of the worship of Brahma, two 
sects seem to have sprung up in India, the one com¬ 
posed of the worshippers of Siva, the other of those 
of Vishnu. The exact order of time in which these 
sects appeared is unknown; but that of Siva is sup¬ 
posed to be the more ancient. Upon the authority of 
an allegorical fable in the Scanda-Purana, Sivaism, 
like the religion of Mohammed, has been said to have 
been established by the sword 45 ; but the fable is 
dark, and its interpretation more than doubtful. The 
sect arose, perhaps, in troubled times, in the midst of 
wars foreign or civil, or its founders may have con- 

44 The Orientals sometimes represent' the vivifying force of 
nature as masculine, sometimes as feminine, and at othertimes, 
as in the case of Brahma, as both masculine and feminine. 
The Venus Amathusia of the Greeks was thus represented: 
(i putant eandem marem ac feminam esse,” says Macrobius. 
Saturn, lib. iii. cap. 8. Serv. ad. iEneid, lib. ii. ver. 632. 

45 Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. p.47; Creuzer, Rel. de 1’Ant 
tom. i. p. 141. 


RELIGION. 


167 


ducted a crusade against the more peaceful followers 
of Brahma; or, which is still more probable, it may 
have been introduced by a victorious nation, who 
established at once its power and its faith. How¬ 
ever this may be, the worship of this god has taken 
deeper root, and is more widely extended than that 
of any other. He is represented in various ways. 
Sometimes as a silver-coloured man, with five faces, 
and in each face three eyes, of which the third is in 
the forehead 46 . He is clothed in a garment of tiger 
skin, and is seated upon a lotos 47 . On other occa¬ 
sions he is depicted with one head, but he has still a 
third eye, with the figure of a half moon on the fore¬ 
head, and is riding upon a bull, naked, and covered 
with ashes, his eyes inflamed with intoxicating drugs: 
in one of his hands he carries a horn, in the other a 
drum. Another form of Siva is the Lingam 48 , a 
smooth black stone almost in the shape of a sugar- 
loaf, with a rude representation of the Yoni project¬ 
ing from its base. It is under this symbol that Siva 

46 Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 248, 249; Creuzer, Rel. de 
l’Ant. tom. i. p. 177. 

47 The gods of the Tatars, Japanese, and other Oriental 
nations, are frequently represented seated upon this flower. 
Ward, vol.iii. p. 11. 

48 “ This idol, which is spread all over India, is generally 
inclosed in a little box of silver, which all the votaries of that 
god (Siva) wear about their necks.” Dubois, p. 438. This is 
not quite correct.' Buchanan found various sects of Siva'ites 
in. the Dekkan who did not wear this symbol. Journey, &c. 
vol. ii. p. 120. We find among the Egyptians the same idol 
worn as an ornament. In fact, the Crux ansata, which is con¬ 
stantly observed in the hands of the Nilotic statues, is nothing 
hut the Yoni-Lingam of the Hindoos. This figure is still the 
astronomical sign of the planet Venus. Jablonski, tom. i. 
part i. p. 287 ; part ii. p. 131. It is a curious fact, says Colonel 
Tod, that in the terra cotta images of Isis, dug up near her 
temple at Paestum, she holds in her right hand an exact repre¬ 
sentation of the Hindoo lingam and yoni combined. Annals, &c. 
vol, i. p. 575. 


168 


THE HINDOOS. 


is most frequently worshipped. Innumerable tem¬ 
ples have been erected in his honour throughout 
Hindoostan, where the Yoni-Lingam, (i. e., probably, 
the symbol of the vivifying generative power of 
nature,) is the only image worshipped. Siva is some¬ 
times worshipped under the appellation of Maha 
Kdla, or “ Time, the Great Destroyer/’ in which form 
alone he is propitiated with bloody sacrifices. His 
image, in this character, is that of a smoke-coloured 
youth with three eyes, clothed in red garments, with 
a chaplet of human skulls about his neck 49 . This 
god is undoubtedly a personification of the principle 
of life, which, in passing from form to form, first 
animates, vivifies, and developes, and then wears 
away and destroys the sheath in which it is enclosed. 
It is the material principle which pervades the uni¬ 
verse, considered as distinct from the great intellec¬ 
tual first cause. 

The worship of Vishnu, which should, perhaps, 
be considered as a sort of reformed Sivaism, suc¬ 
ceeded to that of the destroying and renovating god : 
but in proportion as it was more refined and spiri¬ 
tual, it was the less adapted to replace the popular 
superstition ; and, accordingly, its progress appears 
to have been slow, and its followers at all times 
greatly inferior in numbers to those of Siva. They 
are divided into several sects, each of which has its 
secrets, its sacrifices, its mantras , and particular 
signs. “ The most numerous of all is that whose 
members bear the mark of the nama , or three per¬ 
pendicular lines, imprinted on their forehead, as a 
particular symbol of their extreme devotion for this 
divinity. The particular titles and attributes of 
Vishnu are those of Redeemer and Preserver of all 
things. The other gods, without excepting Brahma 

49 Ward, vol. iii. p. 14; Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 243; 
Creuzer, Rel. de l’Ant. tom.i. p. 140, 146, 159, 173. 






Page 169. The Trimurti : Busts of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, in the Temple at Elephanta. 



























































































































































































































































































































































RELIGION. 


IG9 


himself, have often stood in need of his assistance; 
and, but for his powerful help, must, on many ardu¬ 
ous occasions, have fallen into perdition. This title 
of ‘ Preserver of all things’ has made it necessary 
for him, on various occasions, to assume different 
forms, which the Hindoos call avatars , a word which 
may be rendered metamorphoses 50 .” Of these ava- 
tarsy or incarnations of Vishnu, ten are distin¬ 
guished as the most important. They are, the Fish, 
the Tortoise, the Boar, the Man-lion, the Dwarf, the 
two R&mas, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki 51 . Nine 
of these are said to be passed, and the tenth is still 
expected. 

“Stone images of Vishnu are made for sale, and 
worshipped in the houses of those who have chosen 
him for their guardian deity. There are no public fes¬ 
tivals in honour of this god, yet he is worshipped at 
the offering of a burnt sacrifice; in the form of medi¬ 
tation used daily by the Brahmins ; at the times when 
‘ the five gods’ are worshipped, and also at the com T 
mencement of each srdddha. No bloody sacrifices 
are offered to Vishnu. The offerings presented to 
him consist of fruit, flowers, water, clarified butter, 
sweetmeats, cloths, ornaments, &c. He is revered as 
the household god ; and is worshipped when a per¬ 
son enters a new house, or. at any other time to pro¬ 
cure the removal of family misfortunes 52 .” The de¬ 
scription of the heaven of Vishnu, in the Mahabha- 
rata, is exceedingly gorgeous. It is eighty thousand 
miles in circumference, and formed entirely of gold. 
Its palaces are constructed with jewels, and all its 

60 Dubois, p. 431. 

61 See an extract of the Agni-Purana translated by Col. Vans 
Kennedy in the Appendix to his Researches into the Nature 
and Affinity of Ancient and Hindoo Mythology. London, 
1831, 4to. 

52 Ward, vol. iii. p. 8. 

VOL. I. 0 


170 


THE HINDOOS. 


pillars, architraves, and pediments, blaze and sparkle 
with gems. The crystal waters of the Ganges de¬ 
scend from the higher heavens on the head of Siva, 
and from thence, through the bunches of hair of the 
seven famous penitents, find their way to the plains, 
and form the river of Paradise. Here are also beau¬ 
tiful diminutive lakes of water, upon the surface of 
which myriads of red, blue, and white water-lilies, 
with a thousand petals, are seen floating. On a 
throne glorious as the meridian sun, sitting on 
water-lilies, is Vishnu 53 , and on his right hand the 
goddess Lakshmi, shining like a continued blaze of 
lightning, while from her lovely form the fragrance 
of the lotos is diffused through the heaven. The 
praises of the god are perpetually chaunted by the 
beatified spirits who share his bliss; the gods some¬ 
times unite their voices with those of the worshippers; 
and Garuda (sometimes pronounced Garura), the 
bird-god 54 , guards the door. 

The above three gods, Brahma,Vishnu, and Siva, 
form what is called the Trimurti , or Hindoo Triad. 
The word Trimurti signifies ‘ Three Forms,’ and is 
used to designate these three gods, the Creator, the 
Preserver, and the Destroyer of all things. These 
three deities are sometimes represented singly, with 
their peculiar attributes; and sometimes as blended 
into one body with three heads. It is in this last 
state that they obtain the name of Trimurti, or three 

53 In some of the Hindoo cosmogonies, Vishnu is repre¬ 
sented reclining in a contemplative attitude on a leaf of the 
Indian fig-tree, or on a serpent which floats upon the surface 
of* the ocean. From his navel springs a lotos, in the beautiful 
calix of which Brahma appears seated, ready to accomplish 
the work of creation. Sonnerat, Voy. aux Indes, tom. i. p. 171, 
293; Dubois, p.368 ; Creuzer, Rel. de l’Ant. tom. i. p. 178. 

54 As a real bird, the garuda is a large kind of heron, com¬ 
monly called the adjutant-bird (Ardea arcjdla). See Haugh- 
ton’s Bengali Dictionary, p. 2850. 


RELIGION. 


171 


powers. It appears also that this union of persons 
may have been intended to denote, that existence 
cannot be produced and reproduced, without the com¬ 
bination of the three-fold power of creation, conser¬ 
vation, and destruction 55 . The Trimurti is acknow¬ 
ledged and adored by the majority of Hindoos, 
who, although some castes attach themselves in a 
particular manner to the sect of Vishnu or Siva, 
when the three gods are united together, and form 
but one body, pay undivided worship to the Triad. 
In reality these three gods are by the Brahmins re¬ 
garded as the same deity, contemplated in the capa¬ 
city of Creator , Preserver , and Destroyer of all things ; 
and the divine unity, thus considered, is worshipped 
under the mysterious triliteral name of aum, ora, 
which is represented to have been formed from the 
Sanscrit initials of the three divinities who compose 
the Trimurti 56 . 

We can by no means descend, in this brief outline 
of the Hindoo religion, to a consideration of the 
character and worship of the inferior gods ; but can¬ 
not omit Kamadeva 57 , the god of love, and Krishna. 
Kamadeva, the son of Brahma, is represented as a 
beautiful youth, holding in his hands a bow and 
arrows of flowers. He is invariably accompanied by 
his wife Rati , the goddess of enjoyment or pleasure, 
by the cuckoo, the humming bee, and gentle breezes; 
and is said to be always wandering through the three 
worlds. On other occasions we find him conversing 

55 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 367. 

56 See above, p. 145, note 4; Ram Mohun Roy, Translation 
of several texts, &c. of the V^clas, p. 109. 

57 The name of this god is derived from kama , “ desire,” and 
tleva , “ a godand that of his wife, Rati, from the verb ram, 
“ to play, or give pleasure.” Ward, vol.iii. p. 178. According 
to Sir William Jones, Kamadeva is the son of Mdyd, or “ the 
general attracting power;” and the name of his wife Rati 
signifies affection. Ward, vol. xiii. p. 236. 


17 a 


THE .HINDOOS. 


with his mother and consort, in the midst of his 
gardens and temples, or riding by moonlight on a 
parrot or lory, attended by nymphs or dancing girls, 
the foremost of whom bears his standard, which is a 
fish painted on a red ground. “ His bow of sugar¬ 
cane or flowers, with a string of bees, and his five 
arrows, each pointed with an Indian blossom of a 
heating quality, are allegories equally new and beau¬ 
tiful 58 .” When a wife quits the house of her father 
to repair to her husband for the first time, prayers 
are addressed to this god for children and for hap¬ 
piness 59 . 

Krishna, the most celebrated of the avatars or 
incarnations of Vishnu, was the son of Devaki by 
Vasudeva. His birth was concealed through fear of 
the tyrant Cansa, and he was fostered in Mat’hura, 
by an honest herdsman, named Nanda, and his wife 
Yasoda. “ In their family were a multitude of 
young Gopas or cow-herds, and beautiful Gopis or 
milk-maids, who were his playfellows during his in¬ 
fancy ; and in his early youth Krishna selected nine 
damsels as his favourites, with whom he passed his 
gay hours in dancing, sporting, and playing on his 
flute. For the remarkable number of his Gopis I 
have no authority but a whimsical picture, where 
nine girls are grouped in the form of an elephant, 
on which he sits and pipes; and, unfortunately, the 
word nava signifies both nine and new, or young, 
so that in the following stanza it may admit of two 
interpretations:—‘ I bear in my bosom continually 
that god, who for sportive recreation with a train of 
nine (young) dairy-maids, dances gracefully, now 
quick, now slow, on the sands just left by the daughter 
of the Sun/ 

58 Sir William Jones, Works, vol. xiii. p. 236 ; Asiatic Re. 
searches, vol. i. p. 255. 

* 9 Ward, vol. iii. p. 178. 


RELIGION. 


173 


Both he, and Rama, are described as youths 
of perfect beauty; but the princesses of Hindoo- 
stan, as well as the damsels of Nanda’s farm, were 
passionately in love with Krishna, who continues to 
this hour the darling god of the Indian women. The 
sect of Hindoos 60 , who adore him with enthusias¬ 
tic and almost exclusive devotion, have broached a 
doctrine which they maintain with eagerness, and 
which seems general in these provinces,—that he was 
distinct from all the avatars, who had only an ansa , 
or portion of his divinity; while Krishna was the 
person of Vishnu himself in a human form : hence 
they consider the third Rama, his elder brother, as 
the eighth avatar invested with an emanation of his 
divine radiance; and in the principal Sanscrit diction¬ 
ary, compiled about two thousand years ago, Krishna, 
Vasudeva, Govinda, and other names of the shepherd 
god, are intermixed with epithets of Narayana or 
the divine spirit. All the avatars are painted with 
gemmed Ethiopian, or Parthian coronets; with rays 
encircling their heads; jewels in their ears; two 
necklaces; one straight, and one pendant on their 
bosoms, with dropping gems; garlands of well-dis¬ 
posed many-coloured flowers, or collars of pearls 
hanging down before their waists ; loose mantles of 
gold tissue, or dyed silk, embroidered on their hems 
with flowers, elegantly thrown over one shoulder and 
^folded like ribands across the breast; with bracelets 
too on one arm, and on each wrist; they are naked 
to the waist, and uniformly with dark azure flesh, in 
allusion probably to the tint of that primordial fluid 
on which N&r&yana moved in the beginning of time ; 
but their skirts are bright yellow, the colour of the 

60 This sect, however, is regarded by Mr. Colebrooke as com¬ 
paratively modern. Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. p. 494, 495. 
See also Ward, vol. i. introd. p. 3, 75 ; vol. iii. p. 147, 154; 
and Creuzer, Rel de l’Antiquite, tom. i. p. 220. 

Q 3 


174 


THE HINDOOS. 


curious pericarpium in the centre of the water-lily, 
where nature, as Dr. Murray observes, in some degree 
discloses her secrets, each seed containing before it 
germinates a few perfect leaves ; they are sometimes 
drawn with that flower in one hand, a radiated ellip¬ 
tical ring, used as a missile weapon in a second, the 
sacred shell, or left-handed buccinum in a third, 
and a mace or battle-axe in a fourth. But Krishna, 
when he appears, as he sometimes does appear, 
among avatars, is more splendidly decorated than 
any, and wears a rich garland of sylvan flowers, 
whence he is named Vanamali, as low as his ancles, 
which are adorned with strings of pearls. Dark blue, 
approaching to black, which is the meaning of the 
word Krishna, is believed to have been his complex¬ 
ion; and hence the large bee of that colour is con¬ 
secrated to him, and is often drawn fluttering over his 
head. That azure tint, which approaches to black¬ 
ness, is peculiar, as we have already remarked, to 
Vishnu; and hence in the great reservoir, or cistern, 
at Catmandu, the capital of Nep&l, there is placed in 
a recumbent posture, a large well-proportioned image 
of blue marble, representing N&rayana floating on the 
waters. But let us return to the actions of Krishna, 
who was not less heroic than lovely, and when a boy 
slew the terrible serpent Caliya, with a number of 
giants and monsters; at a more advanced age he put 
to death his cruel enemy Cansa, and having taken 
under his protection the king Yudhisht’hira, and the 
other Pandus who had been grievously oppressed by 
the Kurus> and their tyrannical chief, he kindled the 
war described in the great epic poem, entitled the 
Mahabharata, at the prosperous conclusion of which 
he returned to his heavenly seat in Vaicont’ha, having 
left the instructions comprised in the Bhagavad-Git&, 
with his disconsolate friend Arjuna whose grandson 
became sovereign of India 61 ." 

61 Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 259 — 262. 


RELIGION, 


1 75 


About one thousand years before the Christian 
era 42 , an extraordinary man appeared in India, who 
laboured with unceasing assiduity, and not without 
success, to reform the popular superstitions, and de¬ 
stroy the influence of the Brahmins. This was Bud¬ 
dha, whom the Brahmins themselves regard as an 
avatar of Vishnu. The efforts of Buddha were 
exerted to bring back the religion of his country to 
its original purity. He was of royal descent, but 
chose an ascetic iife, and embraced the most abstruse 
system of philosophy prevalent in India. Many 
princes, among others the celebrated Vikramaditya, 
who reigned in the century that preceded the com¬ 
mencement of our era, adopted the faith of Buddha, 
and, as far as their influence extended, obliterated the 
religion of the Brahmins, and the systems of castes. 
“It is certain, however, that the learned adherents of 
the Brahminical religion did not remain silent spec¬ 
tators of what they deemed the triumph of atheism 63 . 
They contended with their equally learned opponents, 
and this dispute, as is manifest by the tendency of 

62 The greatest discrepancy of opinion prevails respecting 
the period at which Buddha lived. Bohlen, in his work on 
ancient India (Das alte Indien, vol. i. p. 315—317), has col¬ 
lected no less than thirty-five different statements, founded 
chiefly upon the traditions current among the various nations 
who have adopted the Buddhist religion. Four of these would 
fix the age of Buddha at more than two thousand.years before 
the Christian era; the four next make it anterior to the year 
1200 b. c.; the following eighteen concur in fixing it between 
the years 1081 and 1000’b. c.; and the remaining thirteen 
fluctuate between 959 and 543 b. c. 

63 Sir William Jones, in his Remarks on Mr. Wilkins’s 
translation of a ‘ Royal Indian Grant, found at Mongher,’ ob¬ 
serves—“ that the Buddhists, or Saugatas, are called Atheists by 
the Brahmins, whom they opposed; but it is mere invective; 
and this very grant fully disproves the calumny, by admitting 
a future state of rewards and punishments. Sugata, or Buddha, 
was a reformer, and every reformer must expect to be calum¬ 
niated.” Asiatic Researches, vol.i. p. 142. 


176 


THE HINDOOS. 


many of the works still read by the Hindoos, called 
forth all the talents of both sides ; challenges to con 
duct the controversy in the presence of kings and 
learned assemblies were given and accepted: but here, 
as in innumerable other instances, the arm of power 
prevailed; and as long as the reigning monarchs 
were Buddhists, the Brahmins were obliged to con¬ 
fine themselves to verbal contentions 04 .” At length, 
about the beginning of the sixth century of our era, 
an exterminating persecution of the Buddhists began, 
which was instigated chiefly by Cumarila Bhatta, a 
fierce antagonist of their doctrine, and a reputed 
writer on Brahminical theology 65 . This persecution 
terminated in almost entirely expelling the followers 
of the Buddhist religion from Hindoostan; but it 
has doubtless contributed to its propagation in those 
neighbouring countries, into which it had previously 
been introduced through the intercourse of commerce 
and travel 6e . 

64 Ward. vol. iii. p. 419, 420. It was at a very late period, 
however, that Buddhism was finally extirpated from the south 
of India. The persecution of this sect by the Brahmins was 
most rancorous. “ They were tied hand and foot, and thus 
thrown into rivers, lakes, ponds, and sometimes whole strings 
of them.” The Buddhists, when it was in their power, reta¬ 
liated those cruelties upon the Brahmins. They still existed iu 
vast numbers in the Peninsula, in the Gangetie provinces, and 
in Guzerat, in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries of the 
Christian era. Asiatic Researches, vol. x. p. 91, 92. Even 
so late as the year 1526, we find a royal grant of land, the 
author of which, as Bohlen observes, was evidently a Buddhist. 
Asiatic Researches, vol. iii. p. 562, 573; Bohlen, De Buddhaismi 
origine et aetate definiendis tentamen, p.38—40.—The religion 
of Buddha was introduced into China about sixty-five years 
after Christ. De Guignes, Hist, des Huns, tom. v. p. 36. 

65 See Wilson’s Preface to the first edition of his Sanscrit 
Dictionary; Bohlen, Das alte Indien, i. 350, &c. 

66 Those of our readers who may wish for further information 
about the history and doctrines of Buddhism, we must refer to 
Hodgson’s sketch of Buddhism, in the Transactions of the 


RELIGION. 


177 


The Hindoos being delivered from the austere sys¬ 
tem of Buddha, were not content with their celestial 
gods, or heroes, but extended their adoration to vari¬ 
ous living individuals among their own countrymen. 
All the Brahmins, but especially the priests, are pro¬ 
pitiated with divine honours. Their daughters, also, 
under eight years of age, are worshipped as forms of 
the goddess Bhavani, with offerings of flowers, paint, 
water, garlands, and incense. At certain seasons of 
the year, the Brahmin is worshipped by his wife. The 
wives of Brahmins are likewise worshipped by other 
men, who, when they happen to be affluent, some¬ 
times invite a hundred of these ladies to their houses, 
and, having repeated hymns of prayer and praise 
before them, conclude the ceremony with costly offer¬ 
ings. On particular occasions a naked female, as 
the representation of the goddess Bhavani, is said to 
be worshipped by the Hindoos 67 . 

The worship of animals, as the symbols or repre¬ 
sentatives of certain gods, has from the remotest ages 
prevailed in Asia. Among the Egyptians the cow 
was adored as a form of Athor, or the Celestial Venus, 
a goddess whose mythus and attributes bear a striking 
analogy to those of the Indian Bhavani, who has se¬ 
lected the same animal for her representative. In fact, 
it is Bhavani, and not the cow, who is worshipped; 
though the zeal of the missionaries has led them to 

Royal Asiatic Society, vol. ii. p. 222—257; to Abel R6musat’s 
Recherches sur les langues Tatares, Paris, 1820, his Melanges 
Asiatiques, 1825, and Nouveaux Melanges Asiatiques, 1829; 
to Klaproth’s Asia Polyglotta, Paris, 1823, and several essays 
by the same author in the Journal Asiatique and Nouveau 
Journal Asiatique; to Burnouf and Lassen’s Essai sur le Pali, 
Paris, 1826 ; and to Schmidt’s Forschungen im Gebiete 
Mittelasiatischer Geschichte, and his Geschichte der Ost-Mon- 
golen, St. Petersburgh, 1829. 

67 Ward, View of the History; &c. of the Hindoos, vol. iii. 
p. 192—195. 


178 


THE HINDOOS. 


overlook this circumstance; for, in the rites, she is 
addressed as the “ mother of the gods.” This is 
clearly proved by the whole tenor of the ceremonies. 
No image is usad, nor does the devotee bow down 
before the animal. A vase, filled with water, is set 
up in the building, where the cows are stalled, and 
before this the prayers are recited. At the close of 
the service the officiating Brahmin reads the Ckandi , 
a poem in which the wars of Bhavani are related. 
On other occasions flowers are thrown at the feet of 
the cow, and fresh grass is placed before her; and 
the worshipper, addressing her as the form of the 
goddess, exclaims—“ Eat, O Bhavani!” In the 
month Phalguna, the milkmen paint the horns and 
hoofs of their cattle yellow, and bathe them in the 
river 68 . The bull is propitiated with divine honours, 
as an incarnation of the soul of a Brahmin 69 . II a- 
numan, the monkey-god, is regarded as an avatar of 
Siva, whose dog-steed is likewise supposed to parti¬ 
cipate in his honours. Bhavani is sometimes wor¬ 
shipped under the form of a jackall, as well as under 
that of the Coromandel eagle, to which the Hindoos 
always bow when it passes them. Vishnu is adored 
under the form of a fish. Serpents, also, as symbols 
of the destructive principle, are soothed with sacred 
rites. Various trees are worshipped by the Hin¬ 
doos as forms of particular gods, more especially by 
the women, who regard it as a great merit to water 
their roots during the hot months 70 . Books are re¬ 
garded as something divine; as are also certain 

68 Ward, vol. iii. p. 196; Jablonski, Pantheon ./Egypt, tom. i. 

p. 6. 

69 Buchanan, Journey through the Mysore, &c. vol. iii. p. 253, 
391. 

•° See in Sacontala that beautiful scene, in which the 
princess and her fair young friends are introduced performing 
tliis sacred rite in the gardens of Canwa. Works of Sir W. 
Jones, vol. ix. pp. 388 — 390; Forbes, Orient.Mem. vol. ii.p.360. 



RELIGION. 


179 


stones, called salagrama , from the neighbourhood 
of the Gundhak river 71 . 

But among the objects of Hindoo worship rivers 
have at all times occupied a distinguished place. 
The Nile, it is well known, has always been re¬ 
garded as a divinity by the inhabitants of Eastern 
Africa, though his honours have now dwindled to 
a single priest, who performs sacred rites at his 
source 72 . The Ganges, however, and various other 
great rivers of India, are still ranked among the 
principal deities of Asia. The Ganges, or rather the 
nymph Ganga, who is called the daughter of Mount 
Himavat, is represented as a white woman sitting on 
a sea animal called Makara, with a water-lily in her 
right hand, and in her left a lute. All tribes and 
classes of Hindoos pay adoration to Ganga. They 
select the banks of this river for their worship in pre¬ 
ference to all other places, and here, at certain days 
of the moon, they bathe and offer up their vows and 
prayers to the gods. On these occasions offerings of 
fruit, flowers, rice, and sweetmeats are made, and 
garlands of flowers are suspended across the stream, 
even where it is very wide. While sitting before his 
own door, by the side of the Ganges, says Ward, 
the Hindoo observes crowds daily passing to this 
river; “coming in sight of it, each*one lifts up his 
hands to it, in the posture of adoration. They de¬ 
scend into it, and mixing therewith a variety of minute 
ceremonies, perform their ablutions, and seek there 
the removal of stains which would otherwise accom- 

71 The salagrAma is a flinty stone, containing the impression 
of one or more ammonitae, conceived by the Hindoos to repre¬ 
sent Vishnu. See Haughton’s Bengali Dictionary, p. 2484. 

72 See in Bruce an interesting description of this last relic 
of an almost worn-out superstition. Of the pomp and splen¬ 
dour attending the ancient worship of the Nile, we have an 
ample account in Jablonski, Pantheon iEgyptiacum, part ii. 
pp. 139—174. 


180 


THE HINDOOS. 


pany the worshipper into the next birth. On parti¬ 
cular occasions, with one glance of his eye, he sees 
thousands at the sarnie moment in the midst of the 
sacred stream, in the act of profound adoration, 
waiting for the propitious moment, the Brahminical 
signal for immersion. He frequently sees there 
others attending, with the deepest solicitude, a dying 
relation, and using the water and the clay of this 
sacred river, performing offices which acquire in his 
mind the deepest interest, as the last preparation for 
the next state of existence. After the death of the 
individual, he watches these relatives, who having 
burnt the body, make a channel from the funeral 
pile to the.river, into which they wash the ashes of 
the body just consumed, that they may mix in the 
purifying stream. At another time he sees a person 
bearing a bone, part of the body of a relation, who 
has had the misfortune to die at a distance from the 
Ganges, and casting it into the river for the benefit 
of the deceased. Others pass him carrying on their 
shoulders in pans, the water of the deified Ganges 
to the distance of hundreds of miles, that therewith 
they may perform rites connected, as the worshippers 
suppose, with their highest interests. The stories to 
which he listens 'in his own family, or among the 
boys and men where he resorts, contain constant 
allusions to the miraculous powers of this river; he 
therefore falls down with the rest of his countrymen, 
and adores a goddess whose waters refresh the living, 
and bear the dying to a state of bliss 73 .” 

73 Ward, vol. i. preface, p. xxxi* xxxii. 



81 


Chapter VI. 

TEMPLES—HOLY PLACES—PILGRIMAGES—AND 
FESTIVALS. 

There is, perhaps, no country in the world in which 
so great a number of temples and holy edifices are 
found as are scattered through the various provinces 
of India. Almost every grove, and secluded valley, 
and wild and lofty mountain summit, presents to the 
eye some picturesque shrine, or antique chapel, entire 
or in ruins, the offspring of the piety of former days. 
These temples, when situated in fertile regions, are 
frequently surrounded by gardens of singular beautj\ 
The Brahmins exhibit remarkable taste and judg¬ 
ment in selecting the site of their sacred buildings. 
Shade and water are rendered indispensable by the 
warmth of the climate; and as the dwellings of the 
gods are generally inhabited by the priests, and the 
numerous dancing-girls, who chaunt the service and 
perform before the idol, vegetables, fruit, and flowers 
are cultivated with much care in the gardens of the 
temples. The groves, which afford the worshippers a 
shelter from the noon-day heat, consist of orange, fig, 
mulberry, and pomegranate trees ; and the tanks, 
which are frequently lined with white marble, often 
have their beauty enhanced by the number of aquatic 
birds, and the flowers of the red and blue lotus, which 
are seen floating upon their surface. Sometimes the 
temples are situated in the midst of the wildest 
scenery, surrounded by woods and forests, and almost 
concealed from observation by thick groves of banian 
trees. In these sacred groves a number of conse- 

vol. i. R 


182 


THE HINDOOS 


crated bulls, after being dedicated with great ceremony 
by the Brahmins, to Siva, and having a distinguishing 
mark set upon them, are permitted to wander whither¬ 
soever they please, sometimes straying beyond the 
precincts of the temple among the perfumed grass of 
the neighbouring meadows, but everywhere welcomed 
as the representatives of the god. In Guzerat, as 
well as in some other parts of India, these animals 
are of extraordinary beauty. “ They are perfectly 
white, with black horns, a skin delicately soft, and 
eyes rivalling those of the antelope in brilliant lustre.” 
And never was Apis regarded in ancient Egypt with 
more veneration than is now paid to the bull of Siva 
in Hindoostan. Besides the living animals there 
is in most temples a representation of one or more 
of the race, sculptured in marble, stone, or petrified 
rice , reposing under the banian or peepul trees ; for 
“ living or dead they are supposed to add to the 
sanctity of these holy retreats V’ 

Among the alpine valleys of Mewar, and the wilds 
of Parassur in Rajast’han, the traveller discovers, as 
he journeys along, numerous examples of the beautiful 
sacred architecture of India. The genius of both Jain 
and Brahmin has here been exerted in ornamenting 
their native land. “ The most antique temples are 
to be seen in these spots,—within the dark gorge of 
the mountain, or on its rugged summit,—in the 
depths of the forest, and at the sources of streams, 
where sites of seclusion, beauty, and sublimity alter¬ 
nately exalt the mind’s devotion. In these regions 
the creative power appears to have been the earliest, 
and at one time the sole object of adoration, whose 
symbols the serpent-wreathed lingam, and its com¬ 
panion the bull, were held sacred even by the 
‘ children of the forest.’ ” “ The temple of Eklinga, 

situated in one of the narrow defiles leading to the 
1 Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 407, 510; iii. p. 99. 


TEMPLES. 


183 


capital, is an immense structure, though more sump¬ 
tuous than elegant. It is built entirely ot white 
marble, most elaborately carved and embellished, 
but, lying in the route of a bigoted foe, it has 
undergone many dilapidations. The brazen bull, 
placed under his own dome, facing the sanctuary of 
the lingam, is nearly of the natural size, in a recum¬ 
bent posture. It is cast hollow, of good shape, 
highly polished, and without flaw, except where the 
hammer of the Tatar has opened a passage in the 
hollow flank in search of treasure 2 .” 

Motives of prudence have united with those derived 
from superstition in leading men, during barbarous 
ages, to erect the dwellings of their gods among 
the fastnesses of the mountains, whose summits, as 
Herodotus remarks, were among the Orientals sacred 
to Jupiter. We find Koombho, one of the princes 
of Mewar, erecting a temple on Mount Aboo, whose 
pinnacles overtop all the secondary mountains of 
India. The same prince contributed eighty thousand 
pounds towards the erection of another temple, one of 
the largest edifices in the world, which cost upwards 
of a million sterling, and was completed by sub¬ 
scription. This bMilding stands in the Sadri pass, 
leading from the western descent of the high lands of 
Mewar. “ It consists of three stories, and is sup¬ 
ported by numerous columns of granite, upwards of 
forty feet in height. The interior is inlaid with mo¬ 
saics of cornelian and agate. The statues of the 
Jain saints are in its subterranean vaults.” Owing 
to its secluded situation, which has preserved it from 
the bigoted fury of the Musulmans, this edifice is still 
in a high state of preservation, but it is no longer a 
place of worship, u and its only visitants now are the 
wild beasts, who take refuge in its sanctuary.” 

Colonel Tod, in his account of the religious esta- 
2 Colonel Tod, Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 516. 


184 


THE HINDOOS. 


blishments of Mewar, describes as follows the wild 
scenery by which the ancient temple of Siva, above 
delineated, is surrounded. “ The hills towering around 
it on all sides are of the primitive formation, and 
their scarped summits are clustered with honeycombs. 
There are abundant small springs of water, which 
keep verdant numerous shrubs, the flowers of which 
are acceptable to the deity, especially the kiiier, or 
oleander, which grows in great luxuriance on the 
Aravulli. Groves of bamboo and mango were for¬ 
merly common, according to tradition ; but although 
it is deemed sacrilege to thin the groves of Bal, the 
bamboo has been nearly destroyed; there are, how¬ 
ever, still many trees sacred to the deity scattered 
around.” The complicated style in which the greater 
number of Hindoo temples are constructed, renders 
it difficult, if not impossible, to convey bywords a just 
and clear conception of their various details 3 . “ The 
various orders of Hindoo sacred architecture are dis¬ 
tinguished by the form of the sikhara , or pinnacle, 
which is the portion springing from and surmounting 
the perpendicular walls of the body of the temple. 
The sikra of those of Siva is invariably pyramidal, 
and its sides vary with the base, whether square or 
oblong. The apex is crowned with an ornamental 
figure, as a sphinx, an urn, a bull, or a lion, which is 
called the kullus. When the sikra is but the frustrum 
of a pyramid, it is often surmounted by a row of lions, 
as ai Bijolli 4 .” 

One of the most remarkable temples of India is 
the shrine of Krishna, denominated Nat’hdicaru , or 
the “Portal of the God.” It is situated on the right 

s Those who take an interest in the history of architecture 
will thank us for drawing their attention to the Essay on the 
Architecture of the Hindoos , by Ram Raz, with 48 plates, just 
published by the Royal Asiatic Society. (London, 1834, 4to.) 

4 Colonel Tod, vol. i. p. 516. 


TEMPLES 


185 


bank of the Bunas river, about twenty-two miles 
north-east of Oodipoor. This fane, however, owes 
its celebrity neither to its structure nor situation, but 
to an image of Krishna, supposed to be the same 
which has been worshipped in Mat’hura ever since 
the deification of the hero. Though less renowned, 
and reputed less holy than the pastoral Vrij, the 
birth-place of Krishna, where the youthful god sported 
with the Gopis, and made the groves resound to 
the echoes of his flute, Nat’hdwara is still one of 
the most frequented places of Hindoo pilgrimage. 
Yet its consecration dates no farther back than the 
reign of Aurungzebe, when the Pastoral Divinity was 
exiled from his ancient classical seat in Vrij, where 
he had been worshipped during a period of two 
thousand eight hundred years. At this crisis, when 
the Mohammedan tyrant had proscribed Krishna, 
and defiled his shrines on the banks of the Yamuna, 
the “ Holy Land” of the Hindoo, Rana Raj Singh, 
prince of Mewar, offered the heads of one hundred 
thousand Rajpoots for the service of the god, together 
with a sacred asylum in his dominions. “ An omen 
decided the spot of his future residence. As he 
journied to gain the capital of the Seesodias, the 
chariot wheel sunk deep into the earth and defied 
extrication ; upon which the augur interpreted the 
pleasure of the god, that he desired to dwell there. 
This circumstance occurred at an inconsiderable 
village called Siarh, in the fief of Dailwara, one ot 
the sixteen nobles of Mewar. Rejoiced at this de¬ 
cided manifestation of favour, the chief hastened to 
make a perpetual gift of the village and its lands, 
which was speedily confirmed by the patent of the 
Rana.” Upon this the god was removed from his 
car, a temple quickly arose for his reception, and 
the hamlet was graauaily transformed into a con¬ 
siderable town, whose inhabitants are under the 

r 3 


186 


THE HINDOOS. 


jurisdiction of no tribunal but that of the god. 
“ The site is not uninteresting, nor devoid of the 
means of defence. To the east it is shut in by a 
cluster of hills, and to the westward flows the Bunas, 
which nearly bathes the extreme points of the hills. 
Within these bounds is the sanctuary of Krishna, 
where the criminal is free from pursuit; nor dare 
the rod of justice appear on the mount, or the foot 
of the pursuer pass the stream; neither within it can 
blood be spilt, for the pastoral Krishna delights not 
in offerings of this kind. The territory contains 
within its precincts abundant space for the town, 
the temple, and the establishments of the priests, 
as well as for the numerous resident worshippers, 
and the constant influx of votaries from the most 
distant regions,— 

‘ From Samarcand, by Oxus, Temir’s throne ; 

Down to the Golden Chersonese,’ 

who find abundant shelter from the noon-tide blaze 
in the groves of tamarind, peepul (FiciCs religiosci), 
and semul (Bombax heptaphyllum ), or cotton-tree, 
which grows to an immense height, where they 
listen to the mystic hymns of Jayadeva. Here 
those whom ambition has cloyed, superstition un¬ 
settled, satiety disgusted, commerce ruined, or crime 
disquieted, may be found as ascetic attendants on 
the mildest of the gods of India. Determined upon 
renouncing the world, they first renounce the ties 
that bind them to it, whether family, friends, or 
fortune, and placing their wealth at the disposal of 
the deity, stipulate only for a portion of the food 
dressed for him, and to be permitted to prostrate 
themselves before him, till their allotted time is 
expired. Here no blood-stained sacrifice scares the 
timid devotee; no austerities terrify or tedious cere¬ 
monies fatigue him ; he is taught to cherish the hope 


TEMPLES, 


187 


that he has only to ask for mercy in order to obtain 
il; and to believe that the compassionate deity who 
guarded the lapwing’s nest in the midst of myriads of 
combatants, who gave beatitude to the courtezan who 
as the wall crushed her pronounced the name of Rama, 
will not withhold it from him who has quitted the world 
and its allurements that he may live only in his pre¬ 
sence, be fed with the food prepared for himself and 
yield up his last sigh invoking the name of Heri 5 .” 

Two hundred votaries, of every rank and condition, 
have been here congregated together at one time, to 
pass their lives in a devotion which, however mis¬ 
taken, appears to be sincere. These men, holding 
life “ unstable as the dew-drop on the lotus,’’ bestow 
their whole possessions on the shrine, in the hope 
that, through the intercessional prayers of the high 
priest, and days and years spent in religious medi¬ 
tation, they may at length lay down the burden of 
their cares in the heaven of their deity. Towards 
this shrine a tide of costly offerings from every point 
of the compass is constantly setting in. The votaries 
of Krishna are numerous and widely spread. From 
the banks of the Indus and the Ganges, from the 
coasts of the Peninsula, and the shores of the Red 
Sea, gifts and legacies find their way to Nat’hdwara. 
Krishna, or, as he is here more popularly termed, 
Caniya, is the Saint Nicholas of the Hindoo navi¬ 
gator, as was Apollo to the Grecian and Celtic sailors, 
who purchased the charmed arrows of the god as a 
protection from the tempest; and among the mariners 
who plough the Indian Ocean from Sofalaor Arabia, 
it is customary, when the aspect of the heavens ap¬ 
pears menacing or dubious, to vow certain offerings, 
more or less costly, according to the ability of the 
devotee, to the temple of his patron god. There is no 
donation, says Colonel Tod, too great or too trifling 
s Sec Colonel Tod’s Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 521—538 


188 


THE HINDOOS. 


for the acceptance of Krishna, from the baronial 
estate to a patch of meadow-land ; from the gemmed 
coronet to adorn his image to the widow’s mite ; nor 
is there a principality in India which does not di¬ 
minish its own revenues to increase those of Nat’h- 
dwara. It is clearly inferrible, from the account of 
this able and enthusiastic writer, that the introduction 
of this milder form of superstition intp Rajast’han 
has caused a falling off among the worshippers of 
Siva, the tutelar divinity of the Rajpoots, whose 
altars, as we have elsewhere observed, are among the 
most ancient in Hindoostan. 

Upon the right of sanctuary, which existed among 
the majority of ancient nations, we shall merely 
remark that, although humanity was the original 
cause of its institution, the sanctuaries seem to have 
almost everywhere quickly degenerated into strong¬ 
holds of desperate criminals. It is not a little sin¬ 
gular, however, that in a country where confusion 
and anarchy have prevailed so long as they have in 
India, the abuse of the right of sanctuary should not 
be more common than we find, it; but we have the 
unexceptionable testimony of Colonel Tod in support 
of the assertion that the towns of Caniya have not 
often been guilty of this offence. 

Herodotus has given us an account of the splendid 
offerings which were poured into the shrines of Delphi 
and Delos ; but the votaries of the Krishna of Mewar, 
if less numerous than those of the Grecian deity, are 
far more widely scattered over the various regions of 
the East. Hither are borne “ the spices of the isles 
of the Indian Archipelago ; the balmy spoils of 
Araby the blest; the nard or frankincense of Tar¬ 
tary; the raisins and pistachios of Persia; every 
variety of saccharine preparation, from the sacar- 
cand, ‘ sugar-candy,’ of the Celestial Empire, with 
which the god sweetens his evening repast, to that 


TEMPLES. 


189 


more common sort which enters into the peras of 
Mat’hura, the food of his infancy ; the shawls of 
Cashmere, the silks of Bengal, the scarfs of Benares, 
the brocades of Guzerat, 

—-‘the flower and choice 

Of many provinces from bound to hound.’ 6 ” 

But it is. the maritime provinces which most 
lavishly contribute to the riches of this renowned 
shrine. Comptrollers, deputed by the high-priest, 
constantly reside in the great commercial cities of 
Surat, Cambay, Muscat, Mandavi, and others along 
the coast, to collect and transmit the benefactions 
of the votaries. The sum of ten thousand rupees is 
usually sent every year from the Arabian sea-ports of 
Muscat, Mokha, and J idda, by the Hindoo merchants 
whom commerce has attracted to those cities. Even 
from the mouths of the Volga, where a mercantile 
Hindoo colony is established, and from the rude hut 
of the Samoyede of Siberia, contributions flow into 
the fane of Krishna. In Mooltan a deputy of the 
high-priest is stationed for the purpose of investing 
the distant worshippers with the initiative cordon 
and necklace. Numerous pilgrims from Samarcand 
come loaded with offerings to the god ; and there 
is not, in fact, a follower of Vishnu, however humble 
his calling, or remote his dwelling-place, who does 
not in person, or by deputy, convey the tenth of his 
possessions to the shrine of Nat’hdwara, whither 
caravans of thirty or forty cars, double-yoked, pass 
twice or three times in the year by the upper road. 
These pious offerings, however, are not suffered to 
lie useless. The apparel is liberally distributed 
among the devotees, and the various articles of food 
are judiciously supplied to their daily support. To 
stimulate the zeal of the votaries the agents of the 

6 Tod’s Annals of Rajast'ban, vol. i. p. 528. 



190 


THE HINDOOS. 


high-priest carry a portion of the sacred food to the 
most distant regions, to be bestowed upon the boun¬ 
tiful, as from the god, together with dresses of 
honour corresponding in material and value with the 
rank of the receiver: a diadem or fillet of satin and 
gold, embroidered; a quilted coat of gold or silver 
brocade for the cold weather; a scarf of blue and 
gold; or if to one who prizes the gift less for its in¬ 
trinsic worth than as a mark of special favour, a 
fragment of the garland worn at some festival by the 
god; or a simple necklace, by which he is received 
into the number of the elect. But it is the profusion 
of the Rajpoot princes that has chiefly enriched the 
shrine of Krishna. The contribution of the Rajah 
of Cotah alone amounts to twelve thousand pounds 
annually. In fact, every thing at Cotah belongs to 
the god, as does likewise the great lake to the east of 
the city, with all the fish which it contains 7 . 

The temple of Nat’hdwara, as we have already ob¬ 
served, owes no part of its celebrity to the taste or 
magnificence of its architecture; many other sacred 
edifices in India, to which the pious attach peculiar 
sanctity, as the shrine of Jagannat’h in Orissa, are 
no less insignificant, considered as works of art; and 
from this circumstance able writers seem to have 
concluded that all Hindoo temples are mean struc¬ 
tures, utterly destitute of elegance and proportion. A 
slight acquaintance with history will suffice to show 
the feebleness of this reasoning. Among the Egyp¬ 
tians the most sacred idols were small rude images re¬ 
sembling pygmies, or those coarse figures with which 

7 “ I had one day,” says Colonel Tod, “thrown nay net into 
this lake, which abounded with a variety of fish, when my pas¬ 
time was interrupted by a message from the Regent, Zalim 
Singh. ‘Tell Captain Tod that Cotah and all around it are at 
his disposal; but these fish belong to Caniya.’ I, of course, 
immediately desisted, and the fish were returned to the safe¬ 
guard of the deity.” Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 530, note. 


TEMPLES. 


191 


the Phoenicians used to ornament the prows of their 
galleys. Even in Athens, where all the fine arts had 
acquired a degree of perfection which modern nations 
have hitherto in vain sought to rival, the Hermae, 
the breaking of which by Alcibiades was regarded 
as an action of most heinous impiety, were ordinary 
figures of no merit or value, as productions of art. 
We need not, therefore, be surprised to find among 
the Hindoos, whom no sane person has ever placed 
upon a level with the Athenians, a want of archi¬ 
tectural elegance in the most holy of their structures, 
those buildings not being valued for the harmony of 
their proportions, or the splendour of their materials, 
but on account of their containing some antique 
relics, possessing, in the imagination of the people, a 
mysterious power of removing or remitting the penalty 
of sin. 

However the temples of India are not, by any 
means, so entirely devoid of merit as some authors 
pretend. A certain air of barbaric grandeur, vast' 
ness, and exuberant richness of decoration, united, as 
in our most beautiful Gothic cathedrals, with a re¬ 
markable simplicity of design, produce in the beholder 
a strong feeling of the sublime. There would seem, 
therefore, to be more ways than one of agitating the 
most powerful passions of the soul; and although 
the judgment and the feelings must undoubtedly 
concur in giving the preference to those creations 
of art which at once delight and overawe the imagi¬ 
nation, we cannot justly refuse to acknowledge the 
genius of those more irregular and daring fancies 
whose productions invincibly command our surprise 
and admiration. The attention of the world has 
already been directed by many distinguished writers 
to the cavern-temples of Gaya, Salsette, Elephanta, 
and Ellora. Conjecture, which when proper data 
are wanting is always active, has successively as- 


192 


THE HINDOOS. 


signed them the strangest and most improbable 
origin, sometimes asserting them to be the work of 
the Egyptians, at other times of the Macedonians, 
and lastly, to crown the absurdity, of the Jews. 
At present, however, they are no longer doubted 
to have been the work of the Hindoos; but, this 
being acknowledged, it is attempted to be shown that 
there is nothing very extraordinary in their construc¬ 
tion. Speaking of the cavern-temple of Elephanta, 
in the neighbourhood of Bombay, “it is,” says a 
distinguished contemporary writer, “ a cavity in the 
side of a mountain, about half way between its base 
and summit, of the space of nearly one hundred and 
twenty feet square. Pieces of the rock, as is usual 
in mining, have been left at certain distances support¬ 
ing the superincumbent matter; and the sight of the 
whole, upon the entrance, is grand and striking 8 .” 

Let us, however, inquire in what light the cavern- 
temple of Elephanta has appeared to the most judi¬ 
cious travellers who have, visited and described it. 
The situation, it must be owned, was selected with 
some judgment. “ The path leading to it lies through 
a valley; the hills on either side are beautifully 
clothed, and, except when interrupted by the dove 
calling to her absent mate, a solemn stillness prevails: 
the mind is fitted for contemplating the approaching 
scene. The cave is formed in a hill of stone ; its massy 
roof is supported by rows of columns regularly dis¬ 
posed, but of an order different from any in use with 
us; gigantic figures in relief are observed on the 
walls; these, as well as the columns, are shaped in 
the solid rock, and by artists, it would appear, pos 
sessed of some ability, unquestionably of astonish- 

8 Mill, History of British India, vol.ii. p. 4, Few persons 
are more competent than Mr. Mill to decide in a matter of this 
kind ; yet we think his description calculated to convey too un¬ 
favourable an idea of the temple of Elephanta, 



Page 191. Entrance of the Temple at Elephant 































































































































































































- - r m t r~ 




-1 











I< 4 *. 



f 



1- 



/ 





T. ~\z 

■ 


' 

i « s + 

■ -r- •• 

' '^ . - - 





I 






l 







% 




















- • - 


IT 


vr 




*r 


4 * 












TEMPLES. 


193 


ing perseverance.” The author, whose minute and 
excellent description is much too long to be here cited, 
mentions among the sculptures the beautiful figure 
of a youth, and, in another group, a male “ leading 
a female towards a majestic figure seated in the cor¬ 
ner of the niche, his head covered like our judges on 
the bench ; the countenance and attitude of the fe¬ 
male highly expressive of modesty and a timid reluc¬ 
tance.’’ Farther on he adds, “ the part of this sur¬ 
prising monument of human skill and perseverance, 
hitherto described, is generally called the Great Cave; 
its length is one hundred and thirty-five feet, and its 
breadth nearly the same.” And, again returning to 
the sculpture, “ gigantic as the figures are,” he says, 
“ the mind is not disagreeably moved on viewing in 
them a certain indication of the harmony of the pro¬ 
portions. Having measured three or four, and 
examined the proportions by the scale we allow the 
most correct, I found many stood even this test, while 
the disagreements were not equal to what are met 
with every day in people whom we think by no 
means ill-proportioned 9 .” Another traveller, who 
has left us an entertaining account of Western India, 
observes that “the principal temple and adjoining 
apartments are two hundred and twenty feet long, 
and one hundred and fifty broad ; in these dimen¬ 
sions exceeding the largest work at Salsette ; but 
being very inferior in height, notwithstanding the 
numerous and richer decorations at Elephanta, the 
spectator is constantly refninded of being in a cave. 
At Salsette, the lofty concave roof and noble columns 
have a majestic appearance: yet the observer feels 
more surprise and admiration at Elephanta than at 
Salsette : he beholds four rows of massive columns 
cut out of the solid rock, uniform in their order, and 
placed at regular distances, so as to form three mag- 

® Goldingham, Asiatic Researches, vol.iv. p.424—434. 

VOL. I S 


194 


THE HINDOOS. 


nificent avenues from the principal entrance to the 
grand idol, which terminates the middle vista; the 
general effect being heightened by the blueness of the 
light, or rather gloom, peculiar to the situation The 
central image is composed of three colossal heads, 
reaching nearly from the floor to the roof, a height of 
fifteen feet lc .” 

To these let us add the testimony of the tasteful, 
learned, and accomplished Heber, and our proof of 
the grandeur and magnificence of this cavern-tem¬ 
ple will be complete. “Two-thirds of the ascent up 
the higher of the two hills,” he says, “is the great 
cavern, in a magnificent situation, and deserving all 
the praise which has been lavished on it.” For the 
details he refers to another author, and then adds:— 
“ Though my expectations were highly raised, the 
reality much exceeded them, and both the dimen¬ 
sions, the proportions, and the sculpture seemed to 
me to be of a much more noble character, and a more 
elegant execution than I had been led to suppose. 
Even the statues are executed with great spirit, and 
are some of them of no common beauty, consider¬ 
ing their dilapidated condition and the coarseness of 
their material 11 .” 

Of the cave-temples of Kennery, in the island of 
Salsette, the same excellent authority observes :— 
“ These are, certainly, in every way remarkable from 
their number, their beautiful situation, their elaborate 
carving, and their marked connection with Buddha 
and his religion. The caves are scattered over two 
sides of a high rocky hill, at many different eleva¬ 
tions, and of various sizes and forms. Most of them 
appear to have been places of habitation for monks 
or hermits. One very beautiful apartment, of a 
square form, its walls covered with sculpture, and 

10 Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, vol.i. p.429, 430. 

11 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. iii. p. 79, 80. 


TEMPLES. 


195 


surrounded internally by a broad stone bench, is 
called ‘ the durbar,’ but I should rather guess had 
been a school. Many have deep and well carved 
cisterns attached to them, which, even in this dry 
season (May), were well supplied with water. The 
largest and most remarkable of all is a Buddhist 
temple, of great beauty and majesty, and which even 
in its present state would make a very stately and 
convenient place of Christian worship. It is entered 
through a fine and lofty portico, having on its front, 
but a little to the left hand, a high detached octagonal 
pillar, surmounted by three lions seated back to back. 
On each side of the portico is a colossal statue of 
Buddha, with his hands raised in the attitude of bene¬ 
diction, and the screen which separates the vestibule 
from the temple is covered, immediately above the 
dodo, with a row of male and female figures, nearly 
naked, but not indecent, and carved with considerable 

spirit, which apparently represent dancers.In 

the centre of the semicircle, and with a free walk all 
round it, is a mass of rock left solid, but carved exter¬ 
nally like a dome, and so as to bear a strong general 
likeness to our Saviour’s sepulchre, as it is now chi¬ 
selled away and enclosed in St. Helena’s Church at 
Jerusalem. On the top of the dome is a sort of 
spreading ornament, like the capital of a column. It 
is, apparently, intended to support something, and I 
was afterwards told at Carli, where such an ornament, 
but of greater size, is likewise found, that a large 
gilt umbrella used to spring from it. This solid dome 
appears to be the usual symbol of Buddhist adora¬ 
tion, and, with its umbrella ornament, may be traced 
in the Shoo-Madoo of Pegu, and other more remote 
structures of the same faith. Though it is different 
in its form and style of ornament from the Ling am, 

I cannot help thinking it has been originally intended 
to represent the same popular object of that almost 



196 


THE HINDOOS. 


universal idolatry. The ceiling of this cave is arched 
semicircularly, and ornamented, in a very singular 
manner, with slender ribs of teak wood of the same 
curve with the roof, and disposed as if they were 
supporting it, which, however, it does not require, 
nor are they strong enough to answer the purpose. 
Their use may have been to hang lamps or flowers 
from in solemn rejoicings 12 .” 

Let us now, to pursue the subject of cavern-tem¬ 
ples accompany to Carli this judicious traveller, 
than whom we could not desire a more competent 
guide. Here “ the celebrated cavern,” he observes, 
“ is hewn on the face of a precipice about two-thirds 
up the side of a steep hill, rising with a very scarped 
and regular talus , to the height of, probably, eight 
hundred feet above the plain. The excavations con¬ 
sist, beside the principal temple, of many smaller 
apartments, and galleries, in two stories, some of 
them ornamented with great beauty, and evidently 
intended, like those at Kennery, for the lodging of 
monks or hermits. The temple itself is on the same 
general plan as that of Kennery, but half as large 
again, and far finer and richer. It is approached by 
a steep and narrow path winding up the side of the 
hill, among trees and brushwood, and fragments of 
rock. This brought us to a mean and ruinous tem¬ 
ple of Siva, which serves as a sort of gateway to the 
cave: a similar small building stands on the right 
hand of its portico.The approach to the tem¬ 

ple is, like that of Kennery, under a noble arch, filled 
up with a sort of portico screen, in two stories of 
three intercolumniations below, and five above. In 
the front, but a little to the left, is the same kind of 
pillar as is seen at Kennery, though of larger dimen¬ 
sions, surmounted by three lions back to back. Within 
the portico, to the right and left, are three colossal 
13 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. iii. p. 92—95. 



TEMPLES. 


197 


figures, in alto relievo , of elephants, their faces look¬ 
ing towards the person who arrives in the portico, 
and their heads, tusks, and trunks very boldly pro¬ 
jecting from the wall. On each of them is a mohout 
very well carved, and a howdah with two persons 
seated in it. The internal screen on each side of the 
door is covered as at Kennery with alto relievos , very 
bold and somewhat larger than life, of naked male 
and female figures. I asked our young guides 
what deities these represented, and was surprised to 
hear from them in answer, ‘ These are not gods, one 
god is sufficient, these are viragees’ (religious en¬ 
thusiasts, or attendants on the deity). On asking, 
however, if their god was the same whom they wor¬ 
shipped in the little temple before the steps, and if 
he were Maha Deo, they answered in the affirmative, 
so that their deism merely extended to paying wor¬ 
ship to a single idol only. There is certainly, how¬ 
ever, no image either of Buddha or any other 
mythological personage about this cavern, nor any 
visible object of devotion, except the mystic chettah, 
or umbrella, already mentioned at Kennery. The 
details of the cave within, having been already more 
than once published, and as in its general arrange¬ 
ment it closely answers to Kennery, I will only ob¬ 
serve that both in dimensions and execution it is much 
nobler and more elaborate; and that the capitals of 
the columns (all of them at least which are not hid¬ 
den by the chettah at the east end) are very singular 
and beautiful. Each consists of a large cap, like a 
bell, finely carved, and surmounted by two elephants 
with their trunks entwined and each carrying two 
male and one female figure, which our guides again 
told us were viragees. The timber ribs which deco¬ 
rate the roof, whatever their use may have been, are 
very perfect and have a good effect in the perspective 
of the interior, which is all extremely clean, and in 

s 3 


THE HINDOOS. 


lo8 

good repair, and would be, in fact, a very noble tem 
pie for any religion 13 .” 

But among the cavern-temples of India the most 
remarkable, perhaps, both for the style of execution 
andthe historical associations connected with them,are 
those of Ellora, situated near the ancient Hindoo capi¬ 
tal of Deoghir, or Tagara, in the province of Aurung- 
abad. Hamilton 14 justly remarks, that without the 
aid of numerous plates it would be impossible to ren¬ 
der a minute description of these excavations intelli¬ 
gible. But, however richly illustrated, a laborious 
delineation of architectural details can possess but 
few charms for the general reader, and might not, in 
the present case, repay the labour, by any light which 
it could throw on the religious antiquities of Budd¬ 
hists or Brahmins. The excavations, which have, with 
apparent propriety, been divided into Jain, Buddhist, 
and Brahminical, are situated in the face of a cres¬ 
cent-shaped hili, about a mile from the little rural 
village of Ellora. “ The first view of this desolate 
religious city,” says Mr. Erskine, “is grand and strik¬ 
ing, but melancholy. The number and magnificence 
of the subterraneous temples, the extent and loftiness 
of some, the endless diversity of sculpture in others, 
the variety of curious foliage, of minute tracery, 
highly wrought pillars, rich mythological designs, 
sacred shrines and colossal statues astonish but dis¬ 
tract the mind. From their number and diversity, it 
is impossible to form any idea of the whole; and the 
first impressions only give way to a wonder not less 
natural, that such prodigious efforts of labour and 
skill should remain, from times certainly not barba¬ 
rous, without a trace to tell us the hand by which 
they were designed, or the populous and powerful 
nation by which they were completed. The empire, 

13 Heber’s Journal, &c. vol.iii. p. 112, 113. 

14 Description of India, vol.ii. p. 148, 149. 


TEMPLES. 


199 


whose pride they must have been, has passed away, 
and left not a memorial behind it. The religion to 
which we owe one part of them, indeed, continues to 
exist; but that which called into existence the other, 
like the beings by whose toil it was wrought, has 
been swept from the land.” 

One of these groups of caves which, in contempt, 
is termed by the Brahmins Dehr Warra , or “ the 
Halalkhors’ 15 Quarter,” has during the rains a very 
picturesque appearance. The large excavation, ac¬ 
cording to Sir Charles Malet, is very spacious and 
handsome, and over the front of it there must rush a 
small river, during the rainy season, into the plain 
below, forminga sheet of water, which, in a beautiful 
cascade, covers the facade of the temple as with a cur¬ 
tain of crystal. There are two benches of stone that 
run parallel to each other along the floor, from the 
entrance, the whole depth of the cave, the prospect 
from which, of the great tank, town, and valley of 
Ellora, is beautiful. These benches appear to have 
been intended, as in what is called “the Durbar” at 
Kennery, as seats either for students, scribes, or the 
sellers of certain commodities, a convenient passage 
lying between them up to the idol at the end of the 
cave 16 . 

15 The Halulkhors (i. e. literally, those to whom every thing 
is lawful food) are the lowest tribe of outcasts. Forbes, Ori¬ 
ental Memoirs, vol.ii. p. 136. 

16 Asiatic Researches, vol.vi. p. 423. The reader, desirous 
of studying the details of these extraordinary caverns, may 
consult the elaborate description of Sir C. Malet. Ib. p.382— 
423; Transactions of the Bombay Literary Society, articles 
ix. and xv.; Fitzclarence’s Journal of a Route across India, 
p. 193—213; Seely, the Wonders of Ellora, Lond. 1824; 
Daniell’s Picturesque Voyage to India, Lond. 1810; Langles, 
Monumens anciens et modernes de l’Inde, en 150 planches, 
Paris, 181-3; Transact, of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol.ii. 
p. 326, &c. In the ‘Modern Traveller,’ an unpretending but 
clever compilation, the contributions of various authorities 
have been abridged with much pains. India, vol.iv. p. 287—305. 


200 


THE HINDOOS. 


Of the Buddhist /Cave-temple near Buddha-Gaya, 
in Bahar, no very minute or elaborate description 
exists. The hill in which it is hewn lies about four¬ 
teen miles from Gaya, and appears to be one entire 
mass of granite, rough, craggy, and precipitous in its 
ascent. “ The cave is situated on the southern de¬ 
clivity, about two-thirds from the summit: a tree 
immediately before it prevents its being seen from the 
bottom. It has only one narrow entrance from the 
south, two feet and a half in breadth, and six feet 
high, and of thickness exactly equal. This leads to a 
room of an oval form, with a vaulted roof, which I 
measured twice, and found to be forty-four feet in 
length from east to west, eighteen feet and a half in 
breadth, and ten feet and a quarter in height at the 
centre. This immense cavity is dug entirely out of 
the solid rock, and is exceedingly well polished, but 
without any ornament. The same stone extends 
much farther than the excavated part, on each side of 
it, and is altogether I imagine full an hundred feet in 
length 17 .” 

Of all these cavern-temples, by far the greater 
number bear evident marks of having been originally 
consecrated to the worship of Siva, and his consort 

Anquetil Duperron has left us an elaborate description of the 
excavations in his Preliminary Discourse to the Zend Avesta, 
tom. i. p. 233—249. 

17 J. H. Harington, Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p.276—278. 
Of the antiquity or history of this cavern nothing is known. 
Dr. Francis Buchanan Hamilton, who has given a description 
of Buddha Gaya in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic 
Society, (vol. ii. p. 40—51,) thinks it probable that part of the 
ruins may be as ancient as the local tradition would make 
them, viz., coeval with the age of Buddha; but that the great 
edifice still existing, though in the last stage of decay, is of far 
more recent date, and perhaps not older than the tenth century 
of the Christian era. A Sanscrit inscription found at Gaya 
has been translated by Sir Charles Wilkins, See Asiatic Ro 
searches, i. 278—285. 


TEMPLES. 


201 


Bhavani; whose symbols, the Yoni, the Lingam, and 
the Bull, occupy the sanctuary of the edifice, or are 
at least discernible among its principal ornaments. 
Sivaism, as we have already shown, is one of the most 
ancient forms of the Hindoo religion, and in very 
remote ages was the almost universal creed. Those 
were its flourishing times. Then it was that the most 
powerful sovereigns, animated by that zeal which sel¬ 
dom fails to glow in the bosoms of the members of a 
newly established religion, expended prodigious sums, 
to the impoverishing of their treasuries, and the great 
detriment of their people, in the constructing and 
adorning of the shrines of their patron deity. In 
process of time this enthusiastic impulse would natu¬ 
rally die away, and cease to produce those stupen¬ 
dous effects which flowed from its youthful, and, if 
the expression may be hazarded, virgin efforts. These 
considerations, independently of any others, would, 
in the absence of positive proof to the contrary, lead 
us to attribute a very high antiquity to the great ma¬ 
jority of excavated temples in India. The arguments 
of those who advocate the contrary opinion appear to 
us, we must confess, to have little or no weight, except 
what they derive from the personal character of those 
who have advanced them. However this may be, 
there are, as has already been shown, other Indian 
sects who have excavated their temples in the solid 
rock, as the Buddhists and the Jains. But among 
men whose opinions are deeply tinged with gloom, 
and whose habits and practices are imbued with a 
monastic severity, the prevalence of such a taste is 
not very surprising. The wonder is to behold 'the 
followers of the joyous Krishna, whose festivals are 
enlivened by the sound of the flute, tabors, cymbals, 
and songs of gladness, immure themselves in som¬ 
bre mountain caverns, deprived of every cheering 
sight. Yet it is clear that Krishna was, in ancient 


202 


THE HINDOOS. 


times, worshipped chiefly in caves, of which those of 
Girdhana in Vrij, of Gopi-nat’h on the shores of 
Saurashtra, and of Jalindra on the Indus, were the 
most renowned 18 . 

Among the most beautiful of the shrines of India 
is that which the Jains, who have been termed 
the Deists of Hindoostan, though they do not, per¬ 
haps, strictly speaking, deserve the distinction, have 
erected to the Supreme God in the mountain-city of 
Comulmere in Rajast’han. “ The design of this tem¬ 
ple is truly classic. It consists only of the sanctuary, 
which has a vaulted dome and colonnaded portico 
all round. The architecture is undoubtedly Jain, 
which is as distinct in character from the Brahmi- 
nical as their religion. There is a chasteness and 
simplicity in this specimen of monotheistic worship, 
affording a wide contrast to the elaborately sculp¬ 
tured shrines of the Saivas and other polytheists of 
India. The extreme want of decoration best attests 
its antiquity, entitling us to attribute it to that period 
when Sumpriti Raja, of the family of Chandragupta, 
was paramount sovereign over all these regions (two 
hundred years before Christ) ; to whom tradition as¬ 
cribes the most ancient monuments of this faith, yet 
existing in Rajast’han and Saurashtra. The propor¬ 
tions and forms of the columns are especially distinct 
from the other temples, being slight and tapering in¬ 
stead of massive, the general characteristic of Hindoo 
architecture; while the projecting cornices, which 
would absolutely deform shafts less light, are pecu¬ 
liarly indicative of the Takshac architect. Sum¬ 
priti was the fourth prince in descent from Chandra¬ 
gupta, of the Jain faith, and the ally of Seleucus, the 
Grecian sovereign of Bactriana. The fragments of 

18 To these Colonel Tod adds those of Gaya in Bahar, but 
those appear to have belonged exclusively to Buddha. Annals 
of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 544. 


TEMPLES. 


203 


Megasthenes, ambassador from Seleucus, record that 
this alliance was most intimate; that the daughter of 
the Rajpoot king was married to Seleucus, who in 
return for elephants and other gifts, sent a body of 
Greek soldiers to serve Chandragupta. It is curious 
to contemplate the possibility, nay the probability, 
that the Jain temple now before the reader may have 
been designed by Grecian artists, or that the taste of 
the artists among the Rajpoots may have been mo¬ 
delled after the Grecian 19 .” 

No sect of Hindoos have exhibited so much archi¬ 
tectural genius as the Jains. Everywhere, at least 
so far as our experience extends, where their com¬ 
paratively pure religion has prevailed, monuments 
of simple grandeur, or of elaborate elegance, have 
remained, a testimony of their proficiency in the 
arts. At Benares, indeed, in the midst of shrines 
and temples of remarkable beauty, the sacred build¬ 
ing of the Jains has little to distinguish it beyond 
the diminutive gilt cupola by which the roof is sur¬ 
mounted ; but the Brahmins are here so powerful, 
and their enemies, for such are the Jains, so much 

19 Colonel Tod, Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 670, 671. 
“ There was,” says this author, “another sacred structure in its 
vicinity, likewise Jain, but of a distinct character; indeed, 
offering a perfect contrast to that described. It was three sto¬ 
ries in height; each tier was decorated with numerous massive 
low columns, resting on a sculptured panelled parapet, and sus¬ 
taining the roof of each story, which being very low, admitted 
but a broken light to chase the pervading gloom. I should 
imagine that the sacred architects of the East had studied 
effect equally with the preservers of learning and the arts in the 
dark period of Europe, when those monuments, which must 
ever be her pride, arose on the ruins of paganism. How far 
the Saxon or Scandinavian pagan contributed to the general 
design of such structures may be doubted; but that their deco¬ 
rations, particularly the grotesque, have a powerful resem¬ 
blance to the most ancient Hindoo-Scythic, there is no question.” 
p. 671. 


204 


THE HINDOOS. 


at their mercy, that it is more surprising 1 they should 
possess any place of worship at all, than that it 
should be destitute of magnificence. Wherever this 
sect, free from the apprehension of persecution, have 
deemed it prudent to indulge their natural taste, 
the case is different. Even in the small obscure 
town of Mouzabad in Rajpootana, Bishop Heber 
found their temple richly sculptured, with a beau¬ 
tifully carved dome, and three lofty pyramids of 
carved stone, springing from the roof 20 . At Calin- 
gera, a small village between Neemuch and Baroda, 
the same traveller observed the most spacious and 
elegant structure of the kind which he had anywhere 
seen in India. It was entered by a projecting 
portico, which led to an open vestibule covered 
by a dome. Numerous domes and pyramids, sur¬ 
mounting as many small chapels or sanctuaries, 
adorned the roof, and along its several fronts ran 
elegantly carved verandahs, supported by slender 
columns. “ The domes are admirably constructed, 
and the execution of the whole building greatly supe¬ 
rior to what I should have expected to find in such 
a situation. Its splendour of architecture, and its 
present deserted condition, were accounted for by 
the Thannadar, from the fact that Calingera had 
been a place of much traffic, and the residence of 
many rich traders of the Jain sect 21 .” 

At the city of Cairah, in Guzerat, there is a Jain 
temple, which, though distinguished by its striking 
fa 9 ade, depressed domes, and .pyramidal sikharas, is 
chiefly rendered remarkable by a piece of curious 
mechanism which it contains. “ Near the centre of 
the town are a large Jain temple and school, the 
former consisting of many small apartments up and 
down stairs, and even under ground, with a good 

20 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. ii. p. 429, 430. 

21 Narrative of a Journey &c. vol. ii. p. 529. 


TEMPLES. 


205 


deal of gaudy ornament, and some very beautiful carv¬ 
ing in a dark wood like oak. In one of the upper 
rooms is a piece of mechanism, something like those 
moving clockwork groups of kings, armies, gods and 
goddesses, which are occasionally carried about our 
own country by Italians and Frenchmen, in which 
sundry divinities dance and salam with a sort of mu¬ 
sical accompaniment. These figures are made chiefly 
of the same black wood which I have described. 
What they last showed us was a cellar under ground, 
approached by a very narrow passage, and con¬ 
taining on an altar of the usual construction, the 
four statues of sitting men, which are the most 
frequent and peculiar objects of Jain idolatry. They 
are of white marble, but had (as seems to have 
been the case with many of the images of ancient 
Greece) their eyes of silver, which gleamed in a very 
dismal and ghostly manner in the light of a solitary 
lamp which was burning before them, aided by a 
yet dimmer ray which penetrated from above through 
two narrow apertures, like flues in the vaulting. 
We were very civilly conducted over the whole of 
the building by one of the junior priests, the senior 
pundit of the place remaining, as if absorbed in 
heavenly things, immoveable and silent during the 
whole of our stay. While I was in the temple a 
good many worshippers entered, chiefly women, each 
of whom, first touching one of the bells which hung 
from the roof, bent to the ground before one or other 
of the idols, depositing, in some instances, flowers 
or sugar-candy before it 22 . 5 ’ 

But these provincial temples, compared with those 
of the capitals of Western India, are no more than 
so many village churches placed in juxta-position 

22 Heber’s Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Pro¬ 
vinces of India, vol. i. p. 386 ; ii. 430, 526—530; iii. 48, 49. 

VOL. I. T 


206 


THE HINDOOS. 


with Westminster Abbey or St. Paul’s. The bigotry 
of the Patans and Moguls, whom Colonel Tod very 
properly denominates “ the Goths and Vandals of 
Rajast’han,’’ has deprived the lovers of the fine arts 
in Hindoostan of many a beautiful “ relic of nobler 
days and noblest arts but a few exquisite struc¬ 
tures have survived their indiscriminating rage, and 
of these one of the most perfect, as well as one of 
the most ancient specimens is found in the city of 
Ajrnere. This noble monument of Hindoo archi¬ 
tecture stands on the western declivity of the fortress. 
It is termed by the natives, “ the shed of two and a 
half days,’’ for they imagine it to have been the 
work of magic, and to have been completed within 
that time. “ The temple is surrounded by a superb 
screen of Saracenic architecture, having the main 
front and gateway to the north. From its simplicity, 
as well as its appearance of antiquity, I am inclined 
to assign the screen to the first dynasty, the Ghorian 
sultans, who evidently employed native architects. 
The entrance arch is of that wavy kind, characteristic 
of what is termed the Saracenic, whether the term 
be applied to the Alhambra of Spain, or the Mosques 
of Delhi; and I am disposed, on close examination, 
to pronounce it Hindoo. The entire fa 9 ade of this 
noble entrance is covered with Arabic inscriptions. 
But unless my eyes much deceived me, the small frieze 
over the apex of the arch contained an inscription 
in Sanscrit, with which Arabic has been commingled, 
both being unintelligible. The remains of a minaret 
still maintain their position on the right flank of the 
muezzin to call the faithful to prayers. A line of 
gate, with a door and steps leading to it for the 
smaller arches of similar form, composes the front of 
the screen. The design is chaste and beautiful, and 
the material, which is a compact limestone of a yellow 
colour, admitting almost of as high a polish as the 


TEMPLES. 


207 


jaune antique , gave abundant scope to the sculptor. 
After confessing and admiring the taste of the Vandal 
architect, we passed under the arch to examine the 
more noble production of the Hindoo. Its plan is 
simple, and consonant with the more ancient temples 
of the Jains. It is an extensive saloon, the ceiling 
supported by a quadruple range of columns, those of 
the centre being surmounted by a range of vaulted 
coverings ; while the lateral portion, which is flat, is 
divided into compartments of the most elaborate 
sculpture. But the columns are most worthy of 
attention; they are unique in design, and with the 
exception, of the cave-temples, probably among the 
oldest now existing in India. On examining them, 
ideas entirely novel, even in Hindoo art, are de¬ 
veloped. Like all these portions of Hindoo archi¬ 
tecture, their ornaments are very complex, and the 
observer will not fail to be struck with their dis¬ 
similarity : it was evidently a rule in the art to make 
the ornaments of every part unlike the other, and 
which I have seen carried to a great extent. There 
may be forty columns, but no two alike. The orna¬ 
ments of the base are peculiar, both as to form and 
execution ; the lozenges, with the rich tracery sur¬ 
mounting them, might be transferred, not inappro¬ 
priately to the Gothic cathedrals of Europe. The 
projections from various parts of the shaft, (which, 
on a small scale, may be compared to the corre¬ 
sponding projections of the columns in the duomo at 
Milan,) with the small niches still containing the 
statues, though occasionally mutilated, of the pontiffs 
of the Jains, : give them a character which strengthens 
the comparison, and which would be yet more appa¬ 
rent, if we could afford to engrave the details. The 
elegant Camacumpa, the emblem of the Hindoo 
Ceres, with its pendant palmyra-branches, is here 
lost, as are many emblematical ornaments, curious 


208 


THE HINDOOS. 


in design, and elegant in their execution. Here and 
there occurs a richly carved corbeille, which still far¬ 
ther sustains the analogy between the two systems of 
architecture ; and the capitals are at once strong and 
delicate ; the central vault, which is the largest, is con¬ 
structed after the same fashion as that described at 
Nadole; but the concentric annulets which in that 
are plain, in this are one blaze of ornaments, which, 
with the whole of the ceiling, is too elaborate and com¬ 
plicated for description. Under the most retired of 
the compartments, and nearly about the centre, is 
raised the mumba, or pulpit, whence the Moollah 
enunciates the dogma of Mohammed, ‘ there is but 
one God and from which he dispossessed the Jain, 
whose creed was like his own, the unity of the God¬ 
head. But this is in unison with the feeling which 
dictated the external metamorphosis 23 .” 

Besides the temples, there are in India various 
other places which are accounted holy, in some of 
which shrines are erected, and in others not. The 
founders of the Hindoo religion have taught that the 
performance of religious rites at these sacred places 
is an act of peculiar merit, productive of great spi¬ 
ritual benefit. Among the spots thus distinguished 
for their sanctity are the source and confluence of 
sacred rivers ; places where any remarkable phe¬ 
nomena of nature have been discovered; or where 
certain mysterious images have been set up by the 
gods themselves ; or where some god or saint has 
resided, or performed some extraordinary act of piety. 
To these sacred scenes vast multitudes of pilgrims, 
urged by various motives, continually resort. Of 
these, many reside there for a time, in the hope of 
imbibing a sort of odour of sanctity which shall shed 
its influence over all the actions of their remaining 
23 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 779, 780. 


HOLY PLACES. 


209 


life. Others who have devoted the prime of their 
days to Mammon, retire thither when the lamp of 
life begins to burn low, that they may thus make 
sure of heaven after death. And as opulent sinners 
used in the barbarous ages of Europe to erect churches 
or monasteries in order to quiet the gnawings of 
conscience, so in Hindoostan the same class of indi¬ 
viduals erect temples or construct tanks at the various 
holy places for the repose of their souls. 

The number is very great of places thus consecrated 
by superstition. As sin, however, is regarded by the 
Hindoos as an impurity of the soul, nothing seems so 
admirably adapted for the removing of it as bathing 
in the sacred rivers, the principal of which are the 
Ganges, the Jumna, the Indus, the Cavery, and 
the Krishna. But as numerous individuals are pre¬ 
vented by distance and other causes from going to 
these rivers, the rivers, from regard to their piety, 
come to them. For many of those religious mendi¬ 
cants, armies of whom are perpetually traversing the 
country in all directions, recommend themselves to 
the charity of the devout by a present of a little 
water from the Ganges, or some other holy river, 
though perhaps it may, in fact, have been drawn 
from some neighbouring ditch. When this conse¬ 
crated water is not, however, to be procured, the vo¬ 
tary, while performing his purifying ablutions, directs 
his imagination to dip its wings in the Ganges, which, 
even by the rigid, is thought to do quite as well. • 

There are many lakes, springs, and pools of water 
which possess only a periodical privilege of washing 
away sin. The lake of Cumbhacum in Tanjore 24 , 
for example, is endued with this spiritually cleansing 

24 Poshkur, in Marwar, according to Colonel Tod, is the most 
sacred lake in India. “ It is placed in the centre of the valley, 
which here becomes wider, and affords abundant space for the 
numerous shrines and cenotaphs with which the hopes and fears 

T 3 


210 


THE HINDOOS. 


property only once in twelve years. Others, again, 
as the stream which descends from the mountain of 
Tirt’ha Malay, in the Carnatic, have the virtue every 
third year. The Brahmins, who are alone supposed 
to understand when the miraculous power has de¬ 
scended upon the element, despatch innumerable 
messengers into all parts of the country to announce 
the day for bathing in the sacred waters. Vast 
multitudes are immediately put in motion by the 
summons. So delightful is it to have a clear con¬ 
science ! When the mighty host of pilgrims are all 
assembled upon the borders of the lake or stream, 
and have arranged themselves round the water, every 
heart beating with anxiety, and the deep hush of 
expectation every moment increasing, the spectacle 
which they present becomes eminently interesting. 
‘‘ They wait for the favourable hour and moment of 
the day, and on the instant of the astrologer’s an¬ 
nouncing it, all,—men, women, children,—plunge 
into the water at once, and with an uproar that is 
not to be imagined. In the midst of the confusion 
some are drowned, some suffocated, and still more 
meet with dislocated limbs. But the fate of those 
who lose their lives is rather envied than deplored. 
They are considered as martyrs of their zeal; arid 
this happy death lets them pass immediately into 
the abode of bliss, without being obliged to undergo 
another life upon earth 25 .” 

of the virtuous and the wicked amongst the magnates of India 
have studded its margin. It is surrounded by sand-hills of con¬ 
siderable magnitude, excepting on the east, where a swamp 
extends to the very base of the mountains. The form of the 
lake may be called an irregular ellipse. Around its margin, 
except towards the marshy outlet, is a display of varied archi¬ 
tecture. Every Hindoo family of rank has its niche here, for the 
purposes of devotional pursuits, when they could abstract them¬ 
selves from mundane affairs.” Annals, &c. vol. i. p. 773, 774. 

28 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 125. 


PILGRIMAGES. 


211 


But the most renowned places of pilgrimage in 
India, are Gaya, Benares, Prayaga, Jagannat’h, 
Rameswara, Ganga-Sagara, Ayodhya, and Hari- 
dwara. Gaya 26 , as we have already observed in the 
description of Hindoostan, is the modern capital of the 
Bahar district. The old town, in which the priests 
reside, is remarkable for its picturesque buildings and 
narrow streets, and being situated in the midst of 
rocks, near the parched sandy banks of the Phulgu, the 
air for the most part is intensely hot, and obscured in 
spring by perpetual clouds of dust. According to a 
Brahminical legend, this city acquired its sacred 
character from having been the scene of the victory 
of Vishnu over the Asura Gaya; the Buddhists, on 
the other hand, contend that it was the presence of 
their great prophet and legislator, whose birth-place 
or residence it was, which conferred its holy fragrance 
and mysterious virtue on the spot. But whatever 
was the original cause of its sanctity, no orthodox 
Hindoo now doubts of the efficacy of its atmosphere 
in removing sin. The number of pilgrims who an¬ 
nually resort thither, like Bunyan’s hero, with the 
burden of their offences on their shoulders, and 

26 a R a n a resolved to signalize his finale by a raid against 
the enemies of their faith, and to expel the barbarian from the 
holy land of Gaya. In ancient times this was by no means 
uncommon, and we have several instances in the annals of these 
states of princes resigning the purple, on the approach of old 
age, and by a life of austerity and devotion, pilgrimage and 
charity, seeking to make their peace with heaven for the sins 
inevitably committed by all who wield a sceptre. But when 
war was made against their religion by the Tatar proselytes to 
Islam, the Setlej and the Caggar were as the banks of the 
Jordan,—Ga-ya, their Jerusalem, their Hoi}'- Land;—and if 
there destiny filled his cup, the Hindoo chieftain was secure of 
beatitude, exempted from the troubles of second birth ; and 
borne from the scene of probation in celestial cars by the Ap- 
saras, was introduced at once, into the realm of the sun.” 
Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 276, 277. 


212 


THE HINDOOS. 


depart in joy aud gladness, lightened of their load, 
is prodigious, seldom falling short of one hundred 
thousand, and in years of peace amounting sometimes 
to double*that number. Each of the devotees pays 
a duty to the British government, and the gross 
amount of the money thus collected in the year 1816 
was about two hundred and thirty thousand rupees. 

It was formerly the custom for the priests to keep 
the thumb of the votary tied, until his contribution 
was made proportionate to the demands of their ava¬ 
rice ; but at present, under the English government, 
the offerings are all voluntary. Here, however, as 
elsewhere, the congregating together of a promiscuous 
rabble, with passions excited by novelty and exercise, 
the cupidity, the tyranny, the dissoluteness of the 
priests, are the fertile parents of numerous crimes 27 . 

Benares, the holiest of Hindoo cities, may be said 
to hold in India the station which Rome occupied, 
three centuries ago, in Christendom. In the esti¬ 
mation of the Brahmins it forms no part of the 
terrestrial globe, which rests on the thousand-headed 
serpent Ananta , or “ Eternitywhereas Benares is 
fixed on the point of Siva’s trident. Hence, they 
say, no earthquakes are ever experienced there. 
From this city there is a “ royal road’’ to heaven. 
The shortest residence within its holy precincts 
secures salvation. Even beef-eating Englishmen 
who repair thither to breathe their last may obtain 
“ absorption into Brahm and it would appear, 
from the accounts of the Hindoos, that one of our 
superstitious countrymen, whose conscience, perhaps, 
had troubled his understanding, was fain to avail 
himself of the privilege which Siva has bestowed 
upon his favourite dwelling-place. However, to make 

27 Hamilton, Description of Hindoostan, vol. i. p. 264—267. 
Ward, View of the History, Mythology, and Literature of the 
Hindoos, vol. iii. p. 346. 



Page 211. City of Benares 





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































* 
















































\ 











* 






I 























r 






























PILGRIMAGES. 


213 


assurance doubly sure, he bequeathed to the Brahmins 
a sum of money for the construction of a temple after 
his death 28 . 

Among the objects which contribute to render Be¬ 
nares peculiarly holy is the celebrated Lingam, sup¬ 
posed to be a petrifaction of Siva himself! In honour 
of this mightiest of the deities the principal of the 
demigods have also set up an image of the Lingam 
in this city, which is now supposed to contain not 
less than one million images of this kind. Night and 
day therefore, as far as the influence of Hindooism 
extends, pilgrims with shaved heads and clothed in 
penitential garments, may be seen on the dusty roads, 
toiling on foot towards the Holy City 29 . 

Benares stands upon the northern bank of the 
Ganges, where the sinuosity of the sacred river forms 
a magnificent semicircle, of which its site occupies the 
external curve. The ground upon which it stands 
is considerably elevated, particularly towards the cen¬ 
tre, from which point the rows of buildings descend 
in terraces, like the seats of an amphitheatre, to the 
water’s edge. From the opposite shore, which is low 
and level, and projects itself inward between the 
horns of the half moon, the whole of this vast city, 
studded with innumerable pagan temples of remark¬ 
able beauty, and crowned by a lofty Mohammedan 
mosque, may be viewed at a single glance, rising, 
stair above stair, on the circular slope of the hill, or 
reflected with all its grandeur in the broad glassy 
surface of the Ganges. But, like Constantinople, 
and almost every other Oriental city, the interior of 

28 Hamilton, Description, &c. vol. i. p.307. Ward, who was, 
perhaps, Hamilton’s authority, observes, after relating the anec¬ 
dote,—“ I suppress the name of my countryman from a sense 
of shame.” Vol. iii. p. 347. 

29 If the pilgrim ride in a palanquin, or sail in a boat, he 
loses half the benefit of his pilgrimage. Ward, vol.iii. p. 345. 


214 


THE HINDOOS. 


Benares falls very far short of what the picturesque 
beauty of its external appearance would seem to 
promise. The streets are crooked and dirty; and 
the houses, though in many cases six stories high, 
and built of stone, lose, by the narrowness of the 
streets, much of the effect which their bold irregular 
architecture is well calculated to produce. 

“ The number of temples,’’ says Bishop Heber 30 , 
“ is very great, mostly small and stuck like shrines 
iu the angles of the streets, and under the shadow of 
the lofty houses. Their forms, however, are not un¬ 
graceful, and there are many of them entirely covered 
over with beautiful and elaborate carvings, of flowers, 
animals, and palm branches, equalling in minuteness 
and richness the best specimens that I have seen of 
Gothic or Grecian architecture. The material of the 
building is a very good stone from Chunar, but the 
Hindoos here seem fond of painting them a deep red 
colour, and indeed of covering the more conspicuous 
parts of their houses with paintings in gaudy colours 
of flower-pots, men, women, bulls, elephants, gods 
and goddesses, in all their many-formed, many¬ 
headed, many-handed, and many-weaponed varieties. 
The sacred bulls devoted to Siva, of every age, tame 
and familiar as mastiffs, walk lazily up and down 
these narrow streets, or are seen lying across them, 
and hardly to be kicked up (any blows, indeed given 
them must be of the gentlest kind, or woe be to the 
profane wretch who braves the prejudices of this 
fanatic population), in order to make way for the 
Tonjon. Monkeys, sacred to Hanuman, the divine 
ape who conquered Ceylon for Rama, are in some 
parts of the town equally numerous, clinging to all 
the roofs and little projections of the temples, put¬ 
ting their impertinent heads and hands into every 
fruiterer’s and confectioner’s shop, and snatching the 
30 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol.i. p 372, 373, 


PILGRIMAGES. 


215 


food from the children at their meals. Fakirs’ houses, 
as they are called, occur at every turn, adorned with 
idols, and sending out an unceasing tinkling and 
strumming of vinas, biyals, and other discordant in¬ 
struments ; while religious mendicants of every Hin¬ 
doo sect, offering every conceivable deformity, which 
chalk, cow-dung, disease, matted locks, distorted 
limbs, and disgusting and hideous attitudes of 
penance can show, literally line the principal streets on 
both sides.” 

Prayaga, or Allahabad, situated on the confluence 
of the Jumna and the Ganges 31 , is another celebrated 
place of pilgrimage. Hither numerous pious per¬ 
sons from all parts of Hindoostan journey to bathe 
in the sacred river, in whose waters many devotees 
seek a voluntary death. “ He,” says Ward, “ who 
has visited Gaya, Benares, and Prayaga, flatters him¬ 
self that he is possessed of extraordinary religious 
merits 82 .” The pilgrim on his arrival first sits down 
on the edge of the river, where he causes his head 
and body to be shaved so that every hair may fall 
into the water, the Sacred Writings teaching that for 
every hair thus disposed of the penitent shall enjoy 
one million of years’ residence in heaven. This cere¬ 
mony being completed, he bathes, and either on that 
day or the following performs the obsequies of hie 
deceased ancestors. The British government, care¬ 
ful to turn the superstition of the'Hindoos to account, 
levies a tax of three rupees on each pilgrim 33 . Pra¬ 
yaga, notwithstanding its holiness, appears never to 
have been a great or magnificent city, and is now still 
more desolate and ruinous than Dacca. By the 

31 The Saraswati also is here said to join the Ganges and 
the Jumna under ground. Hamilton, vol.i. p.300. 

32 View of the History, &c. of the Hindoos, vol. iii. p.347. 

33 Hamilton, Description, &c. vol.i. p. 300. 


216 


THE HINDOOS. 


natives it is sometimes in derision called Fakir-abad. 
or ‘ the City of Beggars 3 V ” 

Every person to whom India or its superstition 
has ever been an object of curiosity must be familiar 
with the name of Jagannat’h. The shrine of this 
idol stands on the coast of Orissa, amidst level 
burning sands; and to those who sail up or down 
the Bay of Bengal appears in the distance like 
a vast black obelisk. It is constructed of enormous 
blocks of granite, transported with incredible labour 
from the neighbouring mountains, and consists of a 
grotesque pyramidal structure, about three hundred 
and fifty feet in height, and a spacious area, enclosed 
by a lofty wall. Around the interior of this wall there 
runs a gallery, supported by a double range of 
pillars, and forming two hundred and seventy-six 
arcades. The four faces of the pyramid are covered 
with sculptured figures, and its apex is crowned with 
ornaments of gilt copper, which flash and glitter in 
the sun. The interior of this stupendous structure, 
from which the light of heaven would appear to be 
excluded, is lighted up by a hundred lamps which 
burn perpetually before the idol 35 . 

The image, which some writers have imagined to 
be of black stone, is of wood, and renewed every 
three years, when the original bones of Krishna are 
removed by a Brahmin from the belly of the old idol 
to that of the new one. The priest, during this 
awful operation, covers his eyes, lest the sight of such 
mysterious relics should consume him like light- 

34 Heber, Journal, &c. vol. i. p, 439. 

35 De Marlas, Histoire Generate de l’Inde, tora.i. p. 308—312. 
Anquetil Duperron says that the pagoda is several leagues dis¬ 
tant from the sea; and that the city is surrounded by numerous 
pagodas with groves and gardens. Zend Avesta, Disc. Prelim, 
tom. i. p. 81, 82. See also Sonnerat Voyage aux Indes, tom. i 

p. 218. 


PILGRIMAGES. 


217 


ning. This salutary terror effectually represses in 
the minds of the worshippers all desire to see Krishna’s 
bones 36 . Multitudes of dancing-girls, or sacred 
courtezans, have their dwellings in the precincts of 
this temple; and as idolatry is generally favourable 
to vice, so it more especially encourages it here, 
where the presiding demon is but the personification 
of murder and licentiousness. 

But in describing this place it may, perhaps, be 
proper to borrow the language of an eye-witness. 
“ We know that we are approaching Jagannat’h,” 
says Dr. Buchanan, “ (and yet we are more than 
fifty miles from it,) by the human bones which we 
have seen for some days strewed by the way At 
this place we have been joined by several large bodies 
of pilgrims, perhaps two thousand in number, who 
have come from various parts of northern India. 
Some of them, with whom I have conversed, say 
that they have been two months on their march, tra¬ 
velling slowly in the hottest season of the year, with 
their wives and children. Some old persons are 
among them who wish to die at Jagann&t’h. Num- 

36 One instance, however, is recorded of a devotee who in¬ 
dulged this fatal curiosity. “ The Rajah of Burdwan, Kirti 
Chandra, expended, it is said, twelve lacs of rupees in a 
journey to Jagannat’h, and in bribing the Brahmins to permit 
him to see these bones. For the sight of the bones he paid two 
lacs of rupees; but he died-in six months afterwards for his 
temerity.” Ward, vol. iii. p. 349, note. Anquetil Duperron tells 
a story of a Dutchman, who, upon being admitted into the 
temple, and seeing the sparkling eyes of Jagannat’h, of 
which the one was of carbuncle, the other of ruby, grew ena¬ 
moured of the latter, and had the ingenuity to obtain posses¬ 
sion of the object of his affection, apparently without meeting 
with the fate of the Rajah of Burdwan. Zend Avesta, Disc. 
Prelim, tom.i. p. 82. The practice of inserting eyes of pre¬ 
cious stones in the statues of the gods prevailed among the 
Greeks. Even in Phidias’s Minerva, the eyes were of brilliant 
gems. See Plato, in the Greater Hippias. 

VOL. I. 


U 


218 


THE HINDOOS, 


bers of pilgrims die on the road; and their bodies 
generally remain unburied. On a plain by the river, 
near the pilgrim’s caravansera, at this place, there are 
more than a hundred skulls. The dogs, jackalls, and 
vultures, seem to live here on human prey 37 .” 

The amazed traveller proceeded, with an imagina¬ 
tion already sickened by the scene he had beheld, 
but anticipating spectacles still more strange. Arrived 
within sight of the temple, he observes:—“ Many 
thousands of pilgrims have accompanied us for some 
days past. They cover the road before and behind, 
as far as the eye can reach. At nine o’clock this 
morning, the temple of Jagannat’h appeared in view 
at a great distance. When the multitude first saw 
it, they gave a shout and fell to the ground and wor¬ 
shipped. I have heard nothing to-day but shouts and 
acclamations, by the successive bodies of pilgrims. 
From the place where I now stand I have a view of 
a host of people like an army, encamped at the outer 
gate of the town of Jagannat’h; where a guard of 
soldiers is posted to prevent their entering the town, 
until they have paid the pilgrim’s tax. I passed a 
devotee to-day, who laid himself down at every step, 
measuring the road to Jagannat’h by the length of 
his body, as a penance of merit to please the god 38 .” 

37 Buchanan, Christian Researches, p.19. 

36 Buchanan, Christ. Researches, p. 20. On the subject of 
the Pilgrim’s tax, mentioned by Dr. Buchanan, a certain degree 
of misunderstanding appears to exist. The East India Com¬ 
pany has been supposed to encourage idolatry for the purpose 
of participating in its unhallowed gains. But this charge 
appears to be unjust. Its object, in levying the tax, which 
am omits in some cases to one, in others to six rupees, seems 
rather to have been to repress and mitigate the madness of 
idolatry, by rendering it expensive and difficult. And the 
result justifies this interpretation of their conduct. For, during 
several years after the conquest of Cuttaic by the English, the 
tax was not levied; in consequence of whieh prodigious mul¬ 
titudes of pilgrims thronged to the temple, pf whom many 


PILGRIMAGES. 


219 


As he drew near the gate, the prodigious multitude 
©f pilgrims, meeting in the great road leading to the 
city, like the confluence of a thousand streams, pre¬ 
sented the appearance of a living torrent, rolling 
onward with an irresistible impulse. Some secret 
design seemed to occupy the minds of all. On per¬ 
ceiving an European in the midst of them, they 
raised a tremendous shout, but it was not a shout 
of menacing or disapprobation. All castes and 
tribes of men may mingle-together, and eat from the 
same table, in the presence of Jagannat’h, who 
kflows no distinction of rank or sect. The sight of 
their fellow-traveller inspired these wretched devotees 
with the determination to force their wav into the 
city in his train, without paying the pilgrim’s tax, for 
they had travelled far, with indigence and misery 
for their companions. The traveller was apprised of 
his danger by an old sannyasi, but it was too late ; 
the mob was now in motion, and with a tumultuous 
shout pressed violently towards the gate. The guard 
within, perceiving his danger, opened it, and the 
multitude, rushing through, bore him forward in the 
torrent into Jagannat’h. The struggle to enter now 
became terrific. The way was narrow and choked 
up by the crowd, and as, in a rabble so agitated and 
fanatical, neither the weakness of sex nor the infir¬ 
mity of old age was regarded, thousands appeared 

thousands perished on the road through fatigue, disease, or 
want. Anquetil Duperron remarks that he encountered on the 
way to Jagannat’h an a*my of six thousand sannyasis, armed 
with sabres, bows, matchlocks, &c., all exhibiting manifestations 
of insolent ferocity. These fanatical ruffians no doubt subsisted 
during their journey on rapine and plunder; and when this 
resource failed them, and charity was not equal to supply its 
place, starvation and death was their inevitable fate. In spite 
of the tax vast numbers still perish; sometimes, perhaps, not 
more than two hundred in the year, but on other occasions the 
number may exceed two thousand. Ward, vol. iii. p. 349, 350, 


220 


THE HINDOOS. 


about to be suffocated or trampled to death, when 
suddenly one of the side-posts of the gate, which 
was of wood, gave way, and fell to the ground. 
This circumstance alone appears to have prevented 
the loss of lives. 

Being- now within the city Dr. Buchanan hastened 
to witness the dismal fane, and the worship there 
offered up to the idol. “Buddruck,” says he, “is 
but the vestibule of Jagannat’h. No record of an¬ 
cient or modern history can give, I think, an ade¬ 
quate idea of this valley of death. It may be truly 
compared with the valley of Hinnom.’’ “ This morn¬ 
ing I viewed the temple; a stupendous fabric, and 
truly commensurate with the extensive sway of the 
‘ horrid king.’ As other temples are usually adorned 
with figures emblematical of their religion, so Jagan¬ 
nat’h has representations (numerous and varied) of 
that vice which constitutes the essence of his worship. 
The walls and gates are covered with indecent em¬ 
blems in massive and durable sculpture.I have 

also visited the sand plains by the sea, in some places 
whitened by the bones of the pilgrims, and another 
place a little way out of the town, called by the Eng¬ 
lish the Golgotha, where the dead bodies are usually 
cast forth, and where dogs and vultures are ever seen.” 
“There is scarcely any verdure to refresh the sight 
near Jagannat’h ; the temple and town being nearly 
encompassed by hills of sand which has been cast up 
in the lapse of ages by the surge of the ocean. All 
is barren and desolate to the eye, and in the ear there 
is the never intermitting sound of the roaring sea.” 

No writer, either ancient or modern, has given a 
more appalling picture of superstition than is pre¬ 
sented us by Dr. Buchanan in his account of Jagan¬ 
nat’h. Over a part of this picture, however, he was 
compelled to let fall a curtain. This curtain decency 
torbids us to remove. It conceals abominations, if 



pilgrimages. 


221 


possible, still more horrible than those which the early 
fatners 159 of the Christian church objected to the 
pagans of the west, in the existence of which we 
should hesitate to believe, did we not find them still 
subsisting in a province of our own empire. “ I have 
returned home,” continues the traveller, “ from wit¬ 
nessing a scene which I shall never forget. At 
twelve o’clock of this day, being the great day of the 
feast, the Moloch of Hindoostan was brought out of 
his temple amidst the acclamations of hundreds of 
thousands of his worshippers. When the idol was 
placed on his throne, a shout was raised by the mul¬ 
titude, such as I had never heard before. It con¬ 
tinued equable for a few minutes, and then gradually 
died away. After a short interval of silence, a mur¬ 
mur was heard at a distance; all eyes were turned 
towards the place, and behold a grove advancing. A 
body of men, having green branches or palms in their 
hands, approached with great celerity. The people 
opened a way for them ; and when they had come 
up to the throne, they fell down before him that sat 
thereon, and worshipped. And the multitude again 
sent forth a voice, 4 like the sound of a great thun¬ 
der.’ But the voices I now heard were not those of 
melody or of joyful acclamation, for there is no har¬ 
mony in the praise of Moloch’s worshippers. Their 
number indeed brought to my mind the countless 
multitude of the Revelations; but their voices gave 
no tuneful hosanna or hallelujah, but rather a yell 
of approbation united with a kind of hissing ap¬ 
plause. I was at a loss how to account for this latter 
noise, until I was directed to notice the women, who 
emitted a sound like that of whistling, with the lips 

39 Clemens Alexandrinus, Admon. ad Gentes, p. 25, where 
he speaks of certain indecent appellations of Bacchus. See 
Menage ‘Origini della Lingua Italiana;’ and Vossius in 
Pomp. Melam. lib.ii. cap. 2, p. 133 

u 3 


222 


THE HINDOOS. 


Circular and the tongue vibrating; as if a serpent 
would speak by their organs, uttering human sounds. 

“ The throne of the idol was placed on a stupendous 
car or tower, about sixty feet in height, resting on 
wheels which indented the ground deeply as they 
turned slowly under the ponderous machine. At¬ 
tached to it were six cables, of the size and length of 
a ship’s cable, by which the people drew it along. 
Thousands of men, women, and children pulled by 
each cable, crowding so closely that some could only 
use one hand. Infants are made to exert their 
strength in this office, for it is accounted a merit of 
righteousness to move the god. Upon the tower 
were the priests and satellites of the idol surrounding 
his throne. I was told that there were about a hun¬ 
dred and twenty persons upon the car altogether. 
The idol is a block of wood having a frightful visage 
painted black, with a distended mouth of a bloody 
colour. His arms are of gold, and he is dressed in 
gorgeous apparel. The other two idols are of a 
white and yellow colour. Five elephants preceded 
the three towers, bearing towering flags; dressed in 
crimson caparisons, and having bells hanging to 
their caparisons, which sounded musically as they 
moved. I went on in the procession, close by the 
tower of Moloch ; which, as it was drawn with diffi¬ 
culty, ‘ grated on its many wheels harsh thunder.’ 
After a few minutes it stopped ; and now the wor¬ 
ship of the god began. A high-priest mounted the 
car in front of the idol, and pronounced his obscene 
stanzas in the ears of the people, who responded at 
intervals in the same strain. ‘ These songs/ said he, 

‘ are the delight of the god. His car can only move 
when he is pleased with the song.’ The car moved 
on a little way, and then stopped. A boy of about 
twelve years old was then brought forth to attempt 
something yet more lascivious, if peradventure the 


PILGRIMAGES. 


223 


god would move. The ‘ child perfected the praise’ 
of his idol with such ardent expressions and gesture, 
chat the god was pleased, and the multitude emittin 
a sensual yell of delight, urged the car along; after 
few minutes it stopped again. An aged minister of 
the idol then stood up, and with a long rod in his 
hand, which he moved with indecent action, com¬ 
pleted the variety of this disgusting exhibition. I 
felt a consciousness of doing wrong in witnessing it. 
I was also somewhat appalled at the magnitude and 
horror of the spectacle; I felt like a guilty person on 
whom all eyes were fixed, and I was about to with¬ 
draw. But a scene of a different kind was now to 
be presented. The characteristics of Moloch’s wor¬ 
ship are obscenity and blood. We have seen the 
former. Now comes the blood :— 

“ After the tower had proceeded some way, a pilgrim 
announced that he was ready to offer himself a sacri¬ 
fice to the idol. He laid himself down in the road 
before the tower, as it was moving along, lying on 
his face, with his arms stretched forwards. The 
multitude passed round him, leaving the space clear, 
and he was crushed to death by the wheels of the 
tower. A shout of joy was raised to the god. He 
is said to smile when the libation of blood is made. 
The people threw cowries, or small money, on the 
body of the victim, in approbation of the deed. He 
was left to view a considerable time, and was then 
carried to the Golgotha, where I have just been 
viewing his remains 40 .” 

The other places of pilgrimage, as Rameswara 41 , 

40 Buchanan, Christian Researches, p. 22—28. See also 
the account of the temple of Jagannat’ha given by Mansb ich, 
in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol, iii. p. 
253—260. 

41 Rameswara, near Cape Comorin, received its name and 
sanctity from the seventh incarnation of Vishnu in the form 
of R&ma. Asiat. Res. iii. 564. 


fcC 93 


THE HINDOOS. 


221 

Gang&-Sagara, Ayodhya, &c., appear to possess in¬ 
ferior attractions, as they are resorted to by much 
fewer pilgrims. But at Hurdwar, or Hari-dwara, 
(i. e. “ the gate of Hari, or Vishnu,”) a city erected 
near the pass through which the Ganges bursts 
from the mountains, two millions and a half of de¬ 
votees have been known to be collected together 
during the festival. The object of the pilgrims in 
repairing thither is to bathe, for a certain number 
of days, in the waters of the sacred river, at this 
consecrated spot. In addition to religious motives, 
however, the pilgrims are likewise actuated by the 
desire of gain ; for, as among the Mohammedans at 
Mecca, the festival is converted into a fair, where 
a very extensive annual commerce is transacted. 
The motley multitude is composed of natives of 
Caubul, Cashmere, Lahore, Serinagur, Bhutan, Ku- 
maoon, and the plains of Hindoostan, whose dress, 
features, and manners afford the most striking 
contrasts. From some of the very distant countries 
above mentioned, whole families, men, women, and 
children, undertake the journey, some travelling on 
foot, some on horseback, and many, particularly 
women and children, in long heavy carts, railed, 
and covered with sloping matted roofs, to defend 
them against the sun and wet weather; and during 
the continuance of the fair those serve also as 
habitations 42 . 

In describing the principal festivals of the Hindoos, 
among whom,—to generalize the adage applied in 
Rajast’han to the court of Mewar,—there are “ nine 
holidays out of seven days,” I shall commence with 
those of the Rajpoot states. The first festival of 
the year is that of Vasanti , the lovely goddess of the 
spring. It commences on the fifth of the month of 
48 Asiatic Researches, vol. vi. p. 311—313. 


FESTIVALS. 


225 


Magha, which, in 1819, corresponded with the 30th 
of January, and continues for forty days. During 
this period the utmost licence prevails; the lower 
classes indulge in intoxication ; and even “ the most 
respectable individuals, who would at other times 
be shocked to utter an indelicate allusion, roam about 
with the groups of bacchanals, reciting stanzas of 
the warmest description in praise of the powers of 
nature, as did the conscript fathers of Rome during 
the Saturnalia In this season, when the barriers of 
rank are thrown down, and the spirit of democracy 
is let loose, though never abused, even the wild 
Bhil, or savage Mer, will leave his forest or moun¬ 
tain shade to mingle in the revelries of the capital, 
and decorating his ebon hair or tattered turban with 
a garland of jessamine, will join the clamorous 
parties that perambulate the streets 43 .” 

During this festival they celebrate the Ahairea , or 
“Spring Hunt,” which ushers in the merry month 
of Phalguna. The dresses worn on this occasion are 
wholly or partly green, and are distributed by the 
prince among his chiefs and followers. The hour 
for sallying forth to slay the wild boar in honour of 
Gauri, the Indian Ceres, is carefully fixed by the 
royal astrologer; and as success in this sacred hunt 
is supposed to be ominous of future good, no means 
are neglected to secure it, either by scouts previously 
discovering the lair, or the desperate efforts of the 
hunters to slay the animal when roused. When the 
boar is discovered, the spot is immediately sur¬ 
rounded by the hunters, who endeavour by loud 
shouts and vociferations to start the game. Fre¬ 
quently a whole drove breaks at once from the 
thicket. Then every horseman at once impels his 
steed, and with lance or sword, regardless of rock, 
ravine, or tree, presses on the foe, whose knowledge 
43 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 563. 


m 


THE HINDOOS 


of the country is of no avail when thus circumvented, 
and the ground soon reeks with gore, with which 
that, of the horse or his rider is not unfrequently 
mingled. It would, says Colonel Tod, appal even 
an English fox-hunter to see the Rajpoots driving 
their steeds at full speed, bounding like the antelope 
over every barrier—the thick jungle covert, or rocky 
steep, bare of soil or vegetation,—with their lances 
balanced in the air, or leaning on the saddle-bow 
slashing at the boar. On these hunting expeditions 
the royal kitchen takes the field with the sportsmen, 
and when the repast, of which all partake, has been 
prepared in some rural spot, they renew their toils, 
or return, if the hunt be over, in triumph to the 
capital 44 . 

“ As Phalguna advances, the bacchanalian mirth 
increases ; groups are continually patrolling the 
streets, throwing a crimson powder at each other, or 
ejecting a solution of it from syringes, so that the 
garments and visages of all are one mass of crimson. 
On the eighth, emphatically called the Pkdg , the 
Rana joins the queens and their attendants in the 
palace, when all restraint is removed, and mirth is 
unlimited. But the most brilliant sight is the playing 
of the holi on horseback, on the terrace in front of 
the palace. Each chief who chooses to join has a 
plentiful supply of missiles, formed of thin plates of 
mica or talc enclosing this crimson powder, called 
abira, which, with the most graceful and dexterous 
horsemanship, they dart at each other, pursuing, 
caprioling, and jesting. This part of it much re¬ 
sembles the Saturnalia of Rome of this day, when 
similar missiles are scattered at the carnival. The 
last day, or Poonum, ends the holi , when the na- 
karas from the Tripolia summon all the chiefs with 
their retinues to attend their prince, and accompany 
44 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 565, 566. 


FESTIVALS. 


227 


him in procession to the chougan , their Champ d« 
Mars. In the centre of this is a long sala or hall, 
the ascent to which is by a flight of steps; the roof is 
supported by square columns, without any walls, so 
that the court is entirely open. Here, surrounded 
by his chiefs, the Rana passes an hour, listening to 
the songs in praise of Holica, while a scurrilous 
couplet from some wag in the crowds reminds him 
that exalted rank is no protection against the licence 
of the spring Saturnalia. .. .While the Rana and his 
chiefs are thus amused above, the buffoons and itine¬ 
rant groups mix with the cavalcade, throw powder 
in their eyes, or deluge their garments with the crim¬ 
son solution. To resent it would only expose the 
sensitive party to be laughed at, and draw upon him 
a host of those bacchanals; so that no alternative 
exists, between keeping entirely aloof or mixing in 
the fray. On the last day the Rana feasts his chiefs, 
and the camp breaks up with the distribution of 
khanda narsal, or swords and cocoa-nuts, to- the 
chiefs, and all whom the king delighteth to honour. 
These khandas are but ‘ of lath/ in shape like the 
Andrea Ferara, or long cut-and-thrust, the favourite 
weapon of the Rajpoot. They are painted in various 
ways, like harlequin’s sword, and meant as a bur¬ 
lesque, in unison with the character of the day, when 
war is banished, and the multiplication, not the des¬ 
truction of mao is the behest of the goddess who 
rules the spring. At night-fall the forty days con¬ 
clude with the burning of the holi , when they light 
large fires, into which various substances, as well as 
the crimson abira, are thrown, and around which 
groups of children are dancing and screaming in the 
streets like so many infernals. Until three hours 
after sunrise of the new month of Cheyt these orgies 
are continued with increased vigour, when the natives 
bathe, change their garments, worship, and return 


228 


THE HINDOOS. 


to the rank of sober citizens ; and princes and chiefs 
receive gifts from their domestics 45 . 5 ’ 

On the seventh of the Hindoo month of Cheyt (or 
Chaitra) the Rajpoot matrons celebrate the festival 
of Sitla (or Sitald ), the goddess of children. Her 
shrine in Mewar is situated upon the top of an 
isolated hill, in the valley of Oodipoor, whither all 
the married ladies of the capital proceed with their 
offerings. The worship of the Goddess of Spring 
still continues. The ladies of Oodipoor, accompanied 
by their lords, repair on the fifteenth of this month 
to the groves and gardens, where parties, crowned 
with chaplets of roses, jessamine, or oleander, assem¬ 
ble for the purpose of feasting and mirth. 

But the most classical of Hindoo festivals is that 
which the Rajpoots celebrate during nine days (the 
number sacred to the Creative Power), in honour of 
the beneficent Gauri, and denominated the “ Fes¬ 
tival of Flowers.” Gauri , it should be observed, is 
another name for Bhavani, the wife of Siva, a 
divinity who bears, under many of her aspects, a 
stronger analogy with Venus than with Ceres. This 
festival takes place at the vernal equinox, when 
nature, in these almost tropical regions, “ is in the 
full expanse of her charms, and the matronly Gauri 
casts her golden mantle over the beauties of the 
verdant Vasanti. Then the fruits exhibit their pro¬ 
mise to the eye ; the air is impregnated with aroma, 
and the crimson poppy contrasts with the spikes of 
golden grain, to form a wreath for the beneficent 
Gauri 46 . 5 ’ 

46 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 567, 568. 

46 u Gauri is one of the names of Isa, or Parvati, wife of the 
greatest of the gods, Mahadeva, or Iswara, who is joined with 
her in these rites, which almost exclusively appertain to the 
women. The meaning of Gauri is ‘ yellow, emblematic of the 
ripened harvest, and the votaries of the goddess adore her effi* 
gies, which are those of a matron painted the colour of ripe 


festivals. 


229 


The ceremonies commence on the entrance of the 
sun into Aries (the opening of the Hindoo year), 
with the formation of earthern images of Bhavani 
and Siva, which are immediately placed together. 
A small trench is then opened in the earth, in which 
barley is sown. The ground is irrigated, and artifi¬ 
cial heat supplied, until the grain begins to germi¬ 
nate, when the ladies join hands, and dance round 
the trench, invoking the blessing of Bhavani on their 
husbands. After this the young corn is taken up, 
and presented by the ladies to their husbands, who 
wear it in their turbans. Other rites, known only 
to the initiated, having been performed during several 
days within the houses and palaces, the images are 
adorned, and prepared to be carried in procession to 
the lake. 

“At length the hour arrives, the martial nakaras 
give the signal ‘ to the cannonier without,’ and 
speculation is at rest when the guns on the summit 
of the castle of Ekling-ghur announce that Gauri 
has commenced her excursion. The cavalcade as¬ 
sembles on the magnificent terrace, and the Rana 
surrounded by his nobles leads the way to the boats, 
of a form as primitive as that which conveyed the 
Argonauts to Colchis. The scenery is admirably 
adapted for these fetes, the ascent being gradual from 
the margin of the lake, which here forms a fine bay, and 
gently rising to the crest of the ridge on which the 
palace and dwellings of the chiefs are built. Every 
turret and balcony is crowded with spectators, from 

corn ; and though her image is represented with only two 
hands, in one of which she holds the lotus, which the Egyptians 
regarded as emblematic of reproduction, yet not unfrequently 
they equip her with the warlike couch, the discus, and the club, 
to denote that the goddess, whose gifts sustain life, is likewise 
accessory to the loss of it, uniting, as Gauri and Kali, the 
characters of life and death, like the Isis and Cybele of the 
Egyptians.” Colonel Tod, i. 570. 

VOL. I. 


X 


S30 


THE HINDOOS. 


the palace to the water’s edge; and the ample flight 
of marble steps which intervene from the Tripolia, 
or triple portal, to the boats, is a dense mass of 
females in variegated robes, whose scarfs but half 
conceal their ebon tresses adorned with the rose and 
the jessamine. A more imposing or more exhilarating 
sight cannot be imagined than the entire population 
of a city thus assembled for the purpose of rejoicing, 
the countenance of every individual, from the prince 
to the peasant, dressed in smiles. Carry the eye to 
heaven, and it rests on * a sky without a cloud 
below is the magnificent lake, the even surface of the 
deep blue waters broken only by palaces of marble, 
whose arched piazzas are seen through the foliage of 
orange groves, plantain, and tamarind ; while the 
vision is bounded by noble mountains, their peaks 
towering over each other, and composing an immense 
amphitheatre. Here the deformity of vice intrudes 
not; no object is degraded by inebriation ; no tumul¬ 
tuous disorder or deafening clamour, but all wait 
patiently, with eyes directed to the Tripolia, the ap¬ 
pearance of Gauri. At length the procession is seen 
winding down the steep, and in the midst, borne on a 
throne gorgeously arrayed in yellow robes, and blaz¬ 
ing with ‘ barbaric pearl and gold,’ the goddess 
appears: on either side the two beauties wave the 
silver chdmara 47 over her head, while the more fa¬ 
voured damsels act as harbingers, preceding her with 
wands of silver : the whole chaunting hymns. On 
her approach, the Rana, his chiefs and ministers, 
arise, and remain standing until the goddess is seated 
on her throne, close to the water’s edge, when all 
bow, and the prince and his court take their seat in 
the boats. The females then form a circle round 
the goddess, unite hands, and with a measured step, 

47 The chdmara is a fan or fly-brush, usually made of the 
tail of the yak or cow of Tartary (Bos grannie ns). 


FESTIVALS, 


231 


and various graceful inclinations of the body, keeping 
time by beating the palms at particular cadences, move 
round the image singing hymns, some in honour of 
the goddess of abundance, others on love and 
chivalry, and embodying little episodes of national 
achievements, occasionally sprinkled with double 
entendres , which excite a smile and significant nod 
from the chiefs, and an inclination of the head of the 
fair choristers. The festival being entirely female, 
not a single male mixed in the immense groups, and 
even Iswara himself, the husband of Gauri, attracts 
no attention, as appears from his ascetic or men¬ 
dicant form begging his dole from the bounteous and 
universal mother. It is taken for granted that the 
goddess is occupied in bathing all the time she 
remains, and ancient tradition says death was the 
penalty of any male intruding on these solemnities. 
At length, the ablutions over, the goddess is taken 
up and conveyed to the palace with the same forms 
and state. The Rana and his chiefs then unmoor 
their boats, and are rowed round the margin of the 
lake, to visit in succession the other images of the 
goddess, around which female groups are chaunting 
and worshipping, as already described ; with which 
ceremonies the evening closes, when the whole ter¬ 
minates with a grand display of fireworks, the finale 
of each of the three days dedicated to Gauri 48 .” 

“ The festival of Kamadeva , the God of Love, is 
celebrated during the last days of spring. Although 
the hot winds have already begun to blow, causing 
the flowers to droop, and depriving the verdure of 
its freshness, the rose still continues to bloom, even 
amidst all the heats of summer, affording the beau¬ 
tiful Rajpoot girls the most fragrant chaplets to 
adorn their hair. They likewise during this festival 
adorn their tresses, * long and black as a tempestuous 
48 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 571,572. 


232 


THE HINDOOS. 


winter night, with garlands of jasmin, white and 
yellow, and of the magra and champaca, which 
delight in extreme heat. Of the same flowers they 
weave bracelets for their arms, or variegated wreaths, 
which they wear as pendant collars. The ladies of 
RajpOotana exhibit, in their devotion to the God of 
Love, the same fervour of enthusiasm as is shown 
by their husbands, the bravest of the brave, in the 
worship of the Indian Mars. But no where, even 
in this land of violent passions, is the adoration of 
Kamadeva more ardent than among the ladies of 
Oodipoor, ‘ the City of the Rising Sun,’ who, 
during the continuance of his festival, invoke the 
power of this ‘ God of Gods’ in songs and hymns 
composed by the sacred bards of antiquity 49 . 

“ The Noratri , or ‘ Nine Days’ Festival,’ cele¬ 
brated by the Rajpoot in honour" of the * God of 
War,’ commences on the first day of the Indian 
month Asoj. During this festival, which is peculiar 
to the martial tribes, the Worship of the Sword, 
that ‘ imposing rite,’ as Colonel Tod justly terms 
it, which appears to have descended to them from 
their Scythian ancestors, takes place with great 
pomp and ceremony. The prince, after fasting, 
ablution, and prayer, orders the great double-edged 
scimitar, the emblem of Mars, to be brought forth 
from the hail of arms to receive the homage of 
the court. It is then carried in procession to the 
Gate of Krishna, where it is delivered to the Raj- 
Yogi, or chief of the monastic warriors of Mewar, 
by whom it is placed on the altar of Heri, the God 
of Battle. Early in the afternoon the chiefs and 
their retainers are assembled by the sound of the 
nakaras, and proceed in the train of the Rana 
to the royal stables, where a buffalo is sacrificed 
in honour of the war-horse. The cavalcade then 
49 Colonel Tod, Anuals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 577. 


FESTIVALS. 


233 


repairs to the temple of Devi. The Rana, seating 
himself beside the Raj-Yogi, presents the old war¬ 
rior with two pieces of silver and a cocoa-nut, and, 
having performed homage to the sword, returns 
in procession to the palace. On the following day 
several victims are sacrificed, some on the Field of 
Mars, others in the temple of Amba Mata , the 
Universal Mother. The ceremonies are continued 
for nine days, during which, among other rites, 
the steeds and elephants, caparisoned, after bathing 
in the sacred lake, in costly magnificent housings, 
receive the homage of their riders. On the ninth 
day the great scimitar is brought back in state to 
the palace by the chief of the monastic warriors, 
who is presented with a dress of honour; while the 
second in command, who has performed various 
austerities during the nine days, has his patera, or 
hollow gourd, filled with gold and silver coin. 
The whole body of Yogis are then invited to a 
feast, presents are made to the chiefs, and the 
festival concludes with the worship of the sword, 
the shield, and the spear, which takes place within 
the palace. At three o’clock in the morning the 
prince retires to rest, and the Noratri is at an 
end 50 ." 

“ The ‘ Festival of Lamps,’ celebrated on the ides 
of Kartic, in honour of Lakshmi, the ‘ Goddess of 
Wealth,’ is one of the most brilliant fetes of Ra- 
jast’han, called the Dewali, when every city, village, 
and encampment exhibits a blaze of splendour. 
The potters’ wheels revolve, for weeks before, solely 
in the manufacture of lamps, and from the palace to 

50 Colonel Tod, Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 584—586. 
The Rajpoot princes, partial to holidays, cavalcades, pro¬ 
cessions, and every thing which induces an exhibition of 
martial pomp, continue the ceremonies even to the eleventh 
day, but the Noratri properly terminates with the ninth. 

x 3 


234 


THE HINDOOS. 


the peasant’s hut, every one supplies himself with 
them, in proportion to his means, and arranges 
them according to his fancy. Stuffs, pieces of gold, 
and sweetmeats are carried in trays, and consecrated 
at the temple of Lakshmi, to whom the day is con¬ 
secrated. The Rana on this occasion honours his 
prime minister with his presence at dinner, and this 
chief officer of state, who is always of the mercantile 
caste, pours oil into a terra cotta lamp, which his 
sovereign holds; the same libation of oil is permitted 
by each of the near relations of the minister. On 
this day it is incumbent upon every votary of Lakhsmi 
to try the chance of the dice, and from their success 
in the dewali, the prince, the chief, the merchant, 
and the artisan foretel the state of their coffers for 
the ensuing year 51 .” 

On the ninth and tenth of April, the famous Dhol- 
jatra or Swinging Festival is celebrated, in honour 
of Kali. The crowd assembled on this occasion at 
Calcutta is generally immense. Musical instruments 
rouse the worshippers early in the morning, and the 
multitude, many of whom bear torches, hasten to 
the scene of action from every street and lane of the 
city, accompanied by numerous fanatical devotees, who 
walk or dance along, torturing themselves fearfully 
as they proceed. Doubtless the devotion of these 
men is sincere. They hope, by thus anticipating 
the judgment of heaven, to avert the chastisement 
which their crimes, perhaps, merit but too well. 
The exhibition, however, of their penance is highly 
revolting. They thrust spears through their tongues, 
fling themselves from elevated scaffolds upon beds 
of sharp pikes, insert iron hooks through the muscles 
of their sides, by which they are lifted up, sus¬ 
pended to the end of a pendulous beam, and whirled 
round as a penance of merit to appease the goddess 
51 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 597. 


'FESTIVALS. 


235 


Independently of these fanatics, however, the 
rcene is eminently animated and picturesque. ‘‘ The 
music,” says Bishop Heber, who was present at the 
festival of 1825, “ consisted chiefly of large double 
drums, ornamented with plumes of black feathers, 
like those of a hearse, which rose considerably 
higher than the heads of the persons who played 
on them ; large crooked trumpets, like the litui of 
the ancients, and small gongs suspended from a 
bamboo, which rested on the shoulders of two men, 
the last of whom played upon it with a large thick 
heavy drumstick, or cudgel. All the persons who 
walked in the procession, and a large majority of 
the spectators, had their faces, bodies, and white 
cotton clothes daubed all over with vermilion, the 
latter to a degree which gave them the appearance 
of being actually dyed rose colour. They were also 
crowned with splendid garlands of flowers, with 
girdles and baldrics of the same. Many trophies 
and pageants of different kinds were paraded up and 
down on stages drawn by horses or bullocks. Some 
were mythological, others were imitations of dif¬ 
ferent European figures, soldiers, ships, &e., and, 
in particular, there was one very large model of a 
steam-boat. The devotees went about with small 
spears thrust through their tongues and arms, and 
still more with hot irons pressed close against their 
sides. All were naked to the waist, covered with 
flowers, and plentifully raddled with vermilion, while 
their long black wet hair hung down their backs 
almost to their loins. From time to time, as they 
passed us, they laboured to seem to dance, but in 
general their step was slow, their countenances ex¬ 
pressive of resigned and patient suffering, and there 
was no appearance that I saw of any thing like 
frenzy or intoxication 59 .” 

59 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. i. p. 100,101. 


236 


THE HINDOOS. 


At Allahabad the same traveller beheld, in the 
month of September, the Festival of Rama and 
Sita, which he describes in his usual lively amusing 
manner. It is now considered merely as a show, 
and consists in a dramatic representation, which lasts 
during several days, of Rama’s history and adven¬ 
tures. As no religious import is attached to the vari¬ 
ous ceremonies that take place, it is attended without 
scruple even by Musulmans. “ I found Rama, his 
brother Lakshmana, and his betrothed wife Sit'a,” says 
the Bishop, “represented by three children of about 
twelve years old, seated in Durbar, under an awning 
in the principal street of the Sepoy lines, with a great 
crowd round them, some fanning them, of which, 
poor things, they had great need, some blowing 
horns and beating gongs and drums, and the rest 
shouting till the air rang again. The two heroes 
were very fine boys and acted their parts admirably. 
Each had a gilt bow in his left hand, and a sabre in 
his right, their naked bodies were almost covered with 
gilt ornaments and tinsel, they had high tinsel crowns 
on their heads, their foreheads and bodies spotted 
with charcoal, chalk, and vermilion, and altogether 
perfectly resembled the statues of Hindoo deities, 

‘ Except that of their eyes alone 
The twinkle show’d they were not stone.’ 

Poor little Sita, wrapt up in a gorgeous veil of flimsy 
finery, and tired to death, had dropped her head on 
her breast, and seemed happily insensible to all which 
was going on. The Brahmin sepoys, who bore the 
principal part in the play, made room, with great 
solicitude, for us to see. I asked a good many ques¬ 
tions, and obtained very ready answers in much the 
same way, and with no more appearance of reve¬ 
rence and devotion than one should receive from an 
English mob at a puppet-show. ‘I see R&ma, Sita, 


festivals. 


237 


Lakshmana, but where is Hanuman?’ (the famous 
monkey general). ‘ Hanuman,’ was the answer, ‘ is 
not yet come; but that man,’ pointing to a stout sol¬ 
dier of singularly formidable exterior, ‘ is Hanuman, 
and he will soon arrive.’ The man began laughing 
as if half ashamed of his destination, but now took up 
the conversation, telling me that next day was to be 
a far prettier play than 1 now saw, for Sita was to 
be stolen away by Ravana and his attendant evil 
spirits; Rama and Lakshmana were to go to the 
jungle in great sorrow to seek for her, 

Rama, your Rama to green wood must hie !' 

* but then (laughing again) I and my army shall 
come, and we shall fight bravely, bravely, bravely/ 
The evening following I was engaged, but the next 
day I repeated my visit; I was then too late for the 
best part of the show, which had consisted of a first 
and unsuccessful attack by Rama and his army on 
the fortress of the gigantic ravisher. That fortress 
however I saw, an enclosure of bamboos covered 
with paper and painted with doors and windows, 
within which was a frightful paper giant, fifteen feet 
high, with ten or twelve arms, each grasping either 
a sword, an arrow, a bow, a battle-axe, or a spear. 
At his feet sate poor little Sita as motionless as be¬ 
fore, guarded by two figures to represent demons. 
The brothers, in a splendid palkee, were conducting 
the retreat of their army; the divine Hanuman, as 
naked and almost as hairy as the animal whom he 
represented, was gambolling before them with a long 
tail tied round his waist, a mask to represent the 
head of a baboon, and two great painted clubs in 
his nands. His army followed, a number of men 
with similar tails and masks, their bodies dyed with 
indigo, and also armed with clubs. .. . There yet 
remained two or three days of pageant before Sita’e 


238 


THE HINDOOS. 


release, purification, and re-marriage to her hero 
lover; but for this conclusion I did not remain in 
Allahabad. At Benares, I am told, the show is on 
such occasions really splendid. The Raja attends in 
state with all the principal inhabitants of the place, 
he lends his finest elephants and jewels to the per¬ 
formers, who are children of the most eminent fami¬ 
lies, and trained up by long previous education. I 
saw enough however at Allahabad to satisfy my cu¬ 
riosity. The show is now a very innocent one, but 
there was a hideous and accursed practice in ‘ the. 
good old times,’ before the British police was esta¬ 
blished, • at least if all which the Musulmans and 
English say is to be believed, which shows the Hin¬ 
doo superstition in all its horrors. The poor chil¬ 
dren, who had been thus feasted, honoured, and made 
to contribute to the popular amusement, were, it is 
asserted, always poisoned in the sweetmeats given 
them in the last day of the show, that it might be 
said their spirits were absorbed into the deities whom 
they had represented. Nothing of the sort can now 
be done. The children, instead of being brought 
for the purpose, from - a distance by the priests, are 
the children of neighbours whose prior and subse¬ 
quent history is known, and Rama and Sita now 
grow old like other boys and girls 53 .” 

The last, and in the greater part of India, the most 
famous of all the Hindoo festivals, is that called Pon- 
gol , celebrated on the last three days of the year. 
On this occasion the Hindoos devote the whole day 
to mutual visits and compliments, as Europeahs do 
the first day of the year. The cause of their rejoic¬ 
ing is two-fold: first, that the month of December, 
every day of which is unlucky, is about to expire ; 
second, that it is to be succeeded by a month of 
which every day is fortunate To avert the baleful 
53 Narrative, &c. vol. i. p. 446—450. 


FESTIVALS 


239 


effects of the expiring month, a number of Sannyasis 
proceed, about four o’clock in the morning, from 
door to door, beating on a metallic plate which pro¬ 
duces a piercing sound. The people, being thus 
roused from sleep, are counselled to take wise pre¬ 
cautions, and to guard against the evil presages ot 
the month, by expiatory offerings, and sacrifices to 
Siva, who presides over it. With this view, every 
morning, the women scour a space of about two feet 
square before the door of-the house, upon which they 
draw several white lines with flowers. Upon these 
they place several little balls of cow-dung, sticking 
in each a citron blossom. These balls with their 
flowers are collected every day, and preserved until 
the conclusion of the festival, when the women, who 
are here the sole actors, place them in a basket, and, 
preceded by musical instruments, march in proces¬ 
sion, with great rejoicing and clapping of hands, to 
the public tank or some desert place where they cast 
away the relics. The first day is passed in feasting. 
On the second, which is sacred to the sun, married 
women purity themselves by bathing with all their 
garments on. Rising dripping out of the stream 
they in that condition dress rice and milk in the open 
air, in honour of the God of Obstacles. The third 
day, when the men alone perform, is devoted to the 
worship of the cow, the emblem of Bhavani. They 
are first sprinkled with holy water, like the horses in 
the Circensian games; the devotees next make four 
prostrations before them; their horns are then painted 
with various colours ; garlands of flowers, and 
strings of cocoa-nuts and other fruit are put round 
their necks, which, being shaken off as they walk or 
run about, are picked up by the devout, who pre¬ 
serve them as so many sacred relics. The conse¬ 
crated animals are then driven in a body through 
the villages, accompanied and followed by crowds of 


240 


THE HINDOOS, 


people, who make a discordant noise upon various 
musical instruments. During the remainder of the 
day the cows are permitted to stray whithersoever 
they please, and feed in every field without restraint. 
The festival concludes by taking the images of the 
gods from the temples, and carrying them in proces¬ 
sion, with great pomp, to the spot where the cattle 
have been collected. A number of dancing-girls 
move in front of the crowd, in honour of the idols, 
and pause from time to time, “ to exhibit their wan¬ 
ton movements, and charm the audience with their 
lascivious songs 54 .” 

54 Dubois, Description of the Character, Manners and Cus¬ 
toms of the People of India, p. 386—389. We have in the 
preceding pages confined ourselves to an enumeration of only a 
few of the principal festivals of the Hindoos. Those who wish 
to obtain further information on the subject we must refer to 
Ward’s View of the History, &c. of the Hindoos, vol. ii. p. 22, 
&c. (third edition); and to Sir William Jones’s dissertation on 
the lunar year of the Hindoos, in the Asiatic Researches, vol. iii. 
p. 257—293, where a very complete list of all the Hindoo fes¬ 
tivals, arranged according to the months in which they occur, 
is given. 


241 


Chapter VII. 

CHARACTER— MANNERS—AND CUSTOMS. 

The manners of a people are merely the modes in 
which their national character developes itself in the 
ordinary business of life. Justly to appreciate the 
manners of a foreign nation is a task of extreme 
difficulty, not only to the historian who, for the most 
part, can only view them as they are reflected in 
the descriptions of others; but also for the traveller 
who is supposed to contemplate them as they are 
in themselves. For it often happens that travellers 
see rather with the eyes of their predecessors than 
with their own, and only make their experience an 
excuse for continuing to be enslaved by their old 
prejudices. Besides, in the case of the Hindoos, no 
traveller can speak, from personal experience, upon the 
general topic, the field of observation being much too 
large to be thoroughly investigated during the greatest 
extent of life indulged to man. Happily, however, a 
division of labour has taken place. Numerous indi¬ 
viduals, scattered by choice or chance over the vast 
scene of Hindoostan, following each the bent of his 
own inclinations, have described with more or less of 
judgment and accuracy separate portions of the 
great whole. We thus inherit, as it were, the rich 
harvest sown by their toils. The immense picture, 
reduced to a moderate con pass by the industry of 
those who, like the officers of the ancient kings of 
Persia, have been to us as so many eyes and ears, can 
now be taken in by the eye at a single glance. If, 
therefore, we succeed in forming an intelligible notion 
VOT,. I. Y 


242 


THE HINDOOS. 


of Hindoo character and manners, much of the cre¬ 
dit will be due to the able enlightened travellers who 
have removed the obstacles which formerly obstructed 
the sight of philosophers, and by their united efforts 
placed the entire champaign, clothed in all its vivid 
variegated colours, before the sight. 

From various causes, the greater number of which 
appear to have been in operation before the begin¬ 
ning of history, the national character of the Hin¬ 
doos unites in its development great uniformity with 
the most striking variety; there being in every Hin¬ 
doo, of every caste, some indescribable peculiarity 
denoting his affinity with his nation, while each of 
the innumerable tribes or hordes into which the 
vast mass of the population is divided, is distin¬ 
guished by certain traits of manners peculiar to it¬ 
self 1 . It would, however, be an endless as well as 
a useless task to describe all the more minute moral 
features which characterize the various small masses 
into which this great family of mankind is broken 
up. A brief recapitulation of the more striking and 
remarkable, and which, in most cases, are shared in 
common by the whole nation, is all that a well-regu¬ 
lated curiosity can require. We shall endeavour to 
trace the natural course of the life of a Hindoo, 
and examine his mode of acting, from his entrance 
into the world, until his spirit, according to his 
own creed, returns to the Being from whom it ema¬ 
nated, or is condemned to act over in a new body 
the drama of life again. The honest performance of 
this task will necessarily lead us to speak of customs 
and usages extremely different from our own, and 

1 “The shades of moral distinction,” says Colonel Tod, 
“ which separate these races, are almost imperceptible; while 
you cannot pass any grand natural barrier without having the 
dissimilarity of customs and manners forced upon your obser¬ 
vation.” Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 608. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


243 


therefore offensive to our tastes. The Hindoos are, 
in fact, a comparatively barbarous people. Their 
religion is intimately allied with grossness, cruelty, 
and licentiousness. The principle, therefore, which 
should refine and purify is there converted into an 
instrument of corruption. Nature is not even left to 
itself. The aid of art and of religious pageantries is 
called in to arouse passions which, beneath the burn¬ 
ing sun of India, rush towards their object with un¬ 
controllable impetuosity. For this reason the picture 
of Hindoo manners must be anything but a beautiful 
exhibition of pastoral innocence. Yet in so vast a 
scene it is not to be supposed that all is dark. Some 
sunny spots there are in this dismal wilderness, upon 
which the mind dwells with satisfaction. 

Even before his birth the Hindoo is an object of 
solicitude to his parents. The pregnant mother is 
treated with great tenderness and indulgence, and 
ceremonies are performed to avert the influence of 
malignant spirits. 

When the father first comes to visit his new-born 
offspring, he, as a good omen, puts some money 
into its hand, and all those relations who are present 
do the same. On the fifth day after her confine¬ 
ment, the mother bathes; and on the sixth, the 
goddess Shashthi is worshipped with peculiar rites 
in the shed where the child was born 2 . On the 
eighth day, that there may be as little intermission 
as possible in the ceremonies, eight kinds of parched 
pulse and rice, prepared within the house, are carried 
forth and sprinkled before the door, apparently as 
an offering to some divinity. These are immediately 
collected and eaten by the poor children of the 
neighbourhood. On the twenty-first day all the 

2 Ward’s View of the History, Literature, and Mythology of 
the Hindoos, vol. iii. p. 155, &c. (third edition.) 


244 


THE HINDOOS. 


women of the family assemble under the shade oi 
a fig-tree, and again worship the goddess Shashthi ; 
after which, if the infant be a male, the mother is 
regarded as pure; but if it be a female, her puri¬ 
fication is not complete in less than a month. 

As soon as the ceremonies of confinement are 
concluded, the father, whose opulence enables him to 
defray the expense of looking into futurity, imme¬ 
diately sends for an astrologer to cast the. infant’s 
nativity. The astrologer quickly obeys the summons. 
His astrolabe, his compasses, his stellar tables, his 
scrolls of cabalistical characters are laid before him ; 
he inquires the exact moment of the child’s birth, 
consults the stars, or the demons who preside over 
them, and then unfolds the roll of its destiny, 
describing in dark mysterious language the events 
of its future life, as far forward as he is paid for. 
This prophetic record the parents preserve as a 
treasure, and consult as often as any good or evil 
happens to their child. Some persons content them¬ 
selves with recording the astrological or astronomical 
signs under which the infant is born. Others merely 
commit the date to writing. And the poor preserve 
10 memorial whatever. 

The child being born, and its fortunes regularly 
predicted by an astrologer, the next point is to be¬ 
stow upon it a name. This, among the Hindoos, is 
a matter of great importance. The ceremony com¬ 
monly takes place on the tenth or twelfth day after 
nativity 3 , and the name selected is generally that of 
some god or goddess, (the repetition of the names 
of the gods being considered meritorious,) and never 
that of the father or mothe-r. Sometimes the names 
of flowers or trees are given to children, as the Lily, 
the Rose, or the Palmyra; the choice being generally 

3 See Menu, chap. ii. ver. 30. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 


245 


the privilege of the mother, while the father divulges 
the matter to his friends. On some occasions, pro¬ 
bably when the mother desires to choose one name 
and the father another, two lamps are placed over 
two names beginning with the same letter, and fate 
is supposed to decide for that appellation over which 
the lamp burns most brightly. When parents have 
lost many children, whose names were soft-sounding 
and agreeable, they sometimes bestow upon the next 
child a name of harsh and rugged sound, hoping by 
this means to defeat the fatal effects of their neigh¬ 
bours’ envy, to which they attribute their former mis¬ 
fortune. If the child survive to a certain age, 
imagining the danger to be over, they usually add 
some agreeable epithet to the original name. 

Hindoo women suckle their children much longer 
than Europeans, and in fact may frequently be seen 
sitting down in the fields or before their doors with 
a child five or six years old standing beside them, 
drawing the breast. Until they are six months old 
children are fed entirely upon their mother’s milk. 
Wet nurses are seldom employed. Very young 
children go naked, those of the rich until their second 
or third year, those of the poor until their sixth or 
seventh. 

In many parts of Hindoostan children—or at least 
female children—are not regarded as a blessing. 

When a female is born, no anxious inquiries 
await the mother—no greetings welcome the new 
comer, who appears an intruder upon the scene, 
which* often closes in the hofir of its birth. But 
the very silence with which a female birth is ac¬ 
companied, forcibly expresses sorrpw, and we dare 
not say that many compunctious visitings do not 
obtrude themselves on those who, in accordance with 
custom and imagined necessity, are thus compelled 
to violate the sentiments of nature. Families may 

y 3 


246 


THE HINDOOS. 


exult in the Satis which their cenotaphs pourtray, 
but none ever heard a RajpOot boast of the de¬ 
struction of his infant progeny 4 .” 

In his journey through Rajpootana and Guzerat, 
Bishop Heber was curious to collect information 
respecting the extent to which this infernal practice 
prevails at present. It was once hoped that the 
exertions of Major Walker, formerly Resident at 
Baroda, had in a great measure put a stop to it; 
but these hopes, it has since been discovered, were 
unfounded. “ Unhappily, pride, poverty, and ava¬ 
rice are in league with superstition to perpetuate these 
horrors. It is a disgrace for a noble family to have 
a daughter unmarried, and still worse to marry her 
to a person of inferior birth, while they have neither 
the means nor the inclination to pay such portions 
as a person of their own rank would expect to receive 
with them. On the other hand, the sacrifice of a 
child is believed, surely with truth, to be acceptable 
to * the evil powers,’ and the fact is certain, that 
though the high-born Rajpoots have many sons, 
very few daughters are ever found in their palaces, 
though it is not easy to prove any particular instance 
of murder, or to know the way in which the victims 
are disposed of. The common story of the country, 
and probably the true one, for it is a point on which, 
except with the English, no mystery is likely to 
be observed, is that a large vessel of milk is set in 
the chamber of the lying-in woman, and the infant, if 
a girl, is immediately plunged into it. Sir John 
Malcolm, however, who supposes the practice to be 
on the decline, was told that a pill of opium was 
usually given. Through the influence of Major 
Walker it is certain that many children were spared, 
and previous to his departure from Guzerat, be 
received the most affecting compliment which a good 
4 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 636. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


247 


nn&n could receive, in being welcomed at the gate 
of the palace, on some public occasion, by a pro¬ 
cession of girls of high rank, who owed their lives to 
him, and who came to kiss his clothes and throw 
wreaths of flowers over him, as their deliverer and 
second father. Since that time, however, things 
have gone on very much in the old train, and the 
answers made by the chiefs to any remonstrances of 
the British officers is, ‘ Pay our daughters’ marriage 
portions, and they shall live !* Yet these very men, 
rather than strike a cow, would submit to the cruellest 
martyrdom 5 .” 

Even in Ceylon we find traces of the same bar¬ 
barous manners. “ The horrible practice of female 
infanticide,” says Mrs. Heber, “still prevails in some 
districts in the island 5 in the last general census, 
taken in 1821 , the number of males exceeded by 
20,000 that of the females ; in one district there 
were to every hundred men but fifty-five women; 
and in those parts where the numbers were equal, 
the population was almost exclusively Musulman. 
The strange custom of one woman having two, or 
even more husbands, and the consequent difficulty 
of marrying their daughters, in a country where to 
live single is disgraceful, seem to be the causes of 
this unnatural custom. An astrologer is consulted 
on the birth of a female child, and if he pronounces 
her to have been born under evil auspices, she is ex¬ 
posed alive in the woods, to be destroyed by beasts 
of prey or by ants, generally, I was happy to hear, 
without the consent of the mother 6 .” 

The motive which prompts the Rajpoot to commit 
these murders is no doubt the same, as Colonel Tod 
remarks, as that which in barbarous Catholic countries 
studded the land with convents; but we can by no 

5 Heber’s Journal, &c. vol. ii. p. 518, 519. 

6 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. iii. p. 178. 


248 


THE HINDOOS, 


means agree with this author in considering the 
murder of a daughter less criminal than immuring 
her in a convent; nor can all our respect for the 
nobility or rank of the Hindoo warrior induce us to 
palliate in any way the enormity of the sacrifice 
which he imagines himself called upon to make to the 
pride of birth. “ The Rajpoot,’’ says Colonel Tod, 
“ raises the poniard to the breast of his wife, rather 
than witness her captivity, and he gives the opiate to 
the infant, whom, if he cannot portion and marry to 
her equal, he dare not see degraded 7 .” This, we think, 
is paying too much deference to the prejudices of a 
barbarian. The question, if the Rajpoot had the 
sagacity to discern it in its true light, is, whether 
he shall degrade himself into a sanguinary ruffian, 
with soiled conscience, and odious manners, or incur 
the risk—for it is at most but a risk—of seeing his 
daughters united in marriage to individuals less 
wealthy and distinguished than himself, or, which 
is always possible, eat their father’s bread till Pro¬ 
vidence remove them from the world. Neither the 
Hindoo religion, cruel as it is, nor the Hindoo 
laws, authorize this barbarity. But the laws which 
regulate marriage among the Rajpoots powerfully 
promote child-murder. Intermarriage between per¬ 
sons of the same tribe, though centuries may have 
intervened since the branching off from the parent 
stock of the families to which the individuals re¬ 
spectively belong, is regarded as incest. Every 
tribe has therefore to look abroad, to a race distinct 
from its own, for suitors for the females. But this 
is not the principal cause. It is vanity, the vanity 
of a rude barbarian, who respects himself and ima¬ 
gines he is respected by others, exactly in proportion 
to the degree of vain empty pomp which he displays 


7 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 636. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 24 9 

on certain occasions, that is the real idol to which the 
Rajpoot offers up his daughters. Colonel Tod sup¬ 
poses that by the enactment of sumptuary laws the 
evil might be abated, if not extirpated ; but adds 
that the Rajpoots were never sufficiently enamoured 
of despotism to permit it to rule within their private 
dwellings. “ The plan proposed, and in some degree 
followed,” says he, “ by the great Jey Sing of Ambere, 
might with caution be pursued, and with great 
probability of success. He submitted to the prince 
of every Rajpoot state a decree, which was laid 
before a convocation of their respective vassals, 
in which he regulated the daeja or dower, and other 
marriage expenditure, with reference to the property 
of the vassal, limiting it to one year’s income of the 
estate. This plan was however frustrated by the 
vanity of the Chondawut of Salooinbra, who expended 
on the marriage of his daughter a sum even greater 
than his sovereign could have afforded; and to have 
his name blazoned by the bards and genealogists, 
he sacrificed the beneficent views of one of the 
wisest of the Rajpoot race. Until vanity suffers 
itself to be controlled, and the aristocratic Rajpoot 
submit to republican simplicity, the evils arising 
from nuptial profusion will not cease 8 .” 

But we gladly quit this painful topic, to describe 
the mode in which the business of education is 
conducted in Hindoostan. On this, as on most 
other points, the Hindoos differ exceedingly in their 
practice from the rest of mankind. The ordinary 
routine of education generally commences when the 
child has reached its fifth year, at which time it is 
taught by its father to write the alphabet, or sent 
for the purpose to the village school In the fami¬ 
lies of Mie rich, governors are employed, who, besides 


8 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 637. 


250 


THE HINDOOS. 


imparting the first principles of learning, endeavour 
to form and polish the manners, teaching the child 
how to conduct himself towards his parents, his 
friends, his spiritual teacher, &e. Though the 
Hindoo system of manners does not exact from 
children so rigid en observance of the maxims of 
filial piety as is required by the laws of China, 
the parental dignity is nevertheless guarded by 
numerous practices tending to inspire veneration 
and awe. The boy or youth who is taught from 
the cradle to address his father as “ My Lord,” his 
mother as .“ My Lady,” , on returning home from a 
visit or a journey, bows profoundly to his parents, 
and taking the dust, if there be any, from their feet, 
places, or seems to place it, on his head. 

The characters of the alphabet are not learned, 
as in Europe, by being pointed out in a book, and 
having their names pronounced aloud. The boy 
first writes them with a stick or with his finger 
upon the ground ; next upon a palm-leaf with an 
iron stylus or a reed ; and lastly upon a green plan¬ 
tain leaf. From the simple characters he proceeds 
to the compound, to words, and the figures of 
arithmetic. During this period of their education, 
all the boys in the school, with a monitor at their 
head, stand up twice a day, and repeat their lessons. 
The schools open early in the morning, and close 
at sunset; but about four or five of the hottest hours 
of the day are given up to play and refreshment. 
Corporal punishment is permitted. Though their 
gains are small, the schoolmasters, who are all 
Sudras or Brahmins, are generally respectable men. 
While engaged in teaching they generally sit cross- 
legged, upon an antelope or tiger-skin, or on a mat 
of palm-leaves, spread upon the ground opposite 
their pupils ; and their appearance and demeanour 
are grave and venerable. 






. 






























, > * ‘S 




L 








> • 










* s 


** 








. ^ 















- f 










•: 










• • * 



Ik 








f 

W * 


















u. 
















» 















\l 

* 








* 




; • , v 














• .i 


/ 
















4 .f V 
.• • 




• J 










■ 




. 






! - 






■ * 




I X 




• » « * 









' v - ^ 

> b 














« •» [»'-;■ 






- 


* 



















/ 


Hindoo School. 





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


25* 


In the gardens or sacred groves, where the schools® 
are usually held, a statue of the Lingam, springing 
in a cylindrical form from a basin representing the 
Yoni, is commonly placed. Besides this figure, 
rude images of Ganesa and Saraswati, the god and 
goddess of learning and eloquence, are commonly 
set up at the vestibule of the school, and the 
students, as they enter, turn their eyes upon these 
images, and, raising their hands towards heaven, 
worship the gods, exclaiming as they pass, “ Adora¬ 
tion to thee, thou true master !” or, addressing the 
two divinities, “ May you be worshipped !” 

The blessings of a superior education are very 
partially diffused in India, even among the Brah¬ 
mins. Forbes met with a few of this priestly caste 
in Guzerat, who had studied at Benares, and under¬ 
stood Sanscrit ; but neither in that province, nor 
anywhere else! in India, is an acquaintance with this 
language common. “ Those towns on the banks’ of 
the Nerbudda, so famous,” says he, “ for Brahmin 
seminaries, contain numerous schools for the edu¬ 
cation of other boys : these are generally in the open 
air, on the shady side of the house. The scholars 
sit on mats or on cow-dung floors, and are taught as 
much of religion as their caste admits of, also reading, 

9 The Hindoo schools are not, like those of Europe, immense 
edifices, the sight of which, says Bartolomeo, might induce a 
Hindoo to believe that we were more anxious to possess great 
edifices than great men. “ Les jeunes Indous,” says he, “ a 
moitie nuds se rassemblent partout, dans les jardins, sous les 
palmiers.” Voyage aux Indes Orientates, tom.ii. p. 18 . ‘‘The 
allowance of schoolmasters,” says Ward, “ is very small: for 
the first year, a penny a month, and a day’s provisions. 
When a boy writes on the palm-leaf, twopence a month ; after 
this, as the boy advances in learning, as much as fourpence or 
eightpence a month is given.” View of the History, Litera¬ 
ture, 8 $c. of the Hindoos , vol. i. p. 161 . Some of these masters 
teach gratuitously, or are paid by the temples. BarioIantKt 
tom. ii. p. 20. 


252 


THE HINDOOS. 


writing, and arithmetic ; the two latter by making 
letters and figures in sand upon the floor. Edu¬ 
cation, like every thing else among the Hindoos, 
is extremely simple; that of the girls is generally 
confined to domestic employments 10 .” 

The Abbe Dubois, who bestows his chief attention 
on the Brahmins, remarks that the proper business 
of a youth of this caste, before marriage, consists in a 
course of rigorous study, in a strict observance of the 
rules and discipline of his order. He is expected to 
show the utmost deference to his father and mother, 
and a ready obedience to the orders of his superiors. 
With regard to politeness in the ordinary intercourse 
of life, the Abbe’s testimony is contradictory, some¬ 
times attributing to his old friends the utmost ease 
and suavity of manners, at other times representing 
them as rude, gross, abusive, overbearing. Truth 
may lie between. However this may be, as soon as 
the young Brahmin has learned to read and write, 
“ he is taught the Vedas, and the mantras (short 
prayers or invocations of the deities), which he gets 
by heart. He then advances to other sciences ac¬ 
cording to the degree of his docility and quickness of 
capacity. If he has the means of paying teachers, 
the study of the various idioms of India, and above 
all the Hinduvi, at least in the southern provinces, 
occupies the greater part of his leisure. During this 
immature period he is not to use betel, nor put 
flowers in his hair, nor ornament his body or fore¬ 
head with sandal. Neither must he look at himself 
in a mirror. He must bathe daily, and offer the 
sacrifice of the homa twice a day. In short, his 
whole attention must be occupied in forming himself 
upon the true model of the institutions of his caste. 

“ It is not easy for children to live under such 
restraint, and accordingly very few are found who 
19 Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 505, 506 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


253 


follow all that is prescribed to them. Nothing is 
more common, for example, than to see them with 
their foreheads decorated with sandal, and their 
mouths full of betel. And it is not likely that other 
rules which are prescribed, on the points of form, 
should be better observed 11 .” 

The majority of modern Brahmins are ignorant of 
Sanscrit. And the majority of those who profess to 
acquire it resemble “ the peasantry in the Catholic 
countries of Europe, who learn to read Latin that 
they may be able to chaunt the Psalms on Sundays 
at church.” However, the Abbd, as well as. Forbes, 
acknowledges the existence of a few Sanscrit scholars, 
and observes that there were some of them so disin¬ 
terested as to teach the Vedas gratuitously to their 
disciples. 

Among the praiseworthy habits inculcated by a 
Hindoo education, those which relate to the clean¬ 
liness of the person are the most remarkable. These 
habits, which belong to the Hindoo nation in general, 
who may be ranked among the cleanest nations in 
the world, more especially distinguish the Brahmins. 
But here, as elsewhere, we discover their invincible 
propensity to fall into extremes. If a Hindoo has 
been present at a funeral, he forthwith considers 
himself unclean, and, before he can return home, 
must purify his person by immersion in some pond 
or river. The very receiving of the news of the 
death of some relation, though at the distance of a 
thousand miles, renders him unclean, and the bathing 
of the person necessary 12 . 

Among the warlike tribes of Northern India, as 
among the ancient Greeks, music forms a part of 
education, and one of the principal amusements of 

11 Description of the Manners, &c. of the People of India 

p. 101. 

12 Ibid. p. 108, 109. 

VOL. I. 


z 


254 


THE HINDOOS. 


the Rajpoots, though it would be thought indeco¬ 
rous to be considered a performer. Homer describes 
Achilles as delighting in the music of the harp, and 
says, 

“With this he soothes his mighty soul, and sings 
Th’ immortal deeds of heroes and of kings j” 

and Chund, the Homer of Rajast’han, remarks of his 
hero, the Chohan, that he was “ master of the art,” 
both vocal and instrumental. “ Whether profane music 
was ever common may be doubted ; but sacred music 
was a part of early education with the sons of kings. 
Rama and his brothers were celebrated for the har¬ 
monious execution of episodes from the grand epic 
the Ramayana. The sacred canticles of Jayadeva 
were set to music, and apparently by himself, and 
are yet sung by the Chobis. The inhabitants of the 
various monastic establishments chaunt their ad¬ 
dresses to the deity, and I have listened with delight 
to the modulated cadences of the hermits, singing 
the praises of Pataliswara from their pinnacled abode 
ofAboo 13 .” 

The literary attainments of the Rajpoots, though 
by no means extensive, are generally sufficient to 
enable them to read their grants or agreements for 
“ black-mailand they have proceeded one step 
beyond our English nobility in the reign of King 
John, when few of the barons were able to sign 
their names to the Magna Charta, Still we suspect 
that the intellect is but poorly cultivated among the 
Rajpoots. Colonel Tod thinks it high praise, in 
speaking of the Rana of Oodipoor, to say that he 
possesses an easy epistolary style ; but admits that 
his ability is confined to the mere playing skilfully 
with words. It should be remembered, however, 
that the glory of India has departed from her. Nei- 
13 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 649, note. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


255 


ther her princes nor her people are now what they 
once were. 

Nevertheless, considerable intellectual energy is 
from time to time exhibited by the rulers of Northern 
India. “ The familiar epistolary correspondence of 
the princes and nobles of Rajast’han would exhibit 
abundant testimony of their powers of mind: they 
are sprinkled with classical allusions, and evince that 
knowledge of mankind which constant collision in 
society must produce. A collection of these letters, 
which exist in the archives of every principality, 
would prove that the princes of this country are 
upon a par with the rest of mankind, not only in 
natural understanding, but, taking their opportunities 
into account, even in its cultivation. The prince who 
in Europe could quote Hesiod and Homer with the 
freedom that the Rana does on all occasions Vyasa 
and Valmiki, would be accounted a prodigy; and 
there is not a divine who could make application 
of the ordinances of Moses with more facility than 
the Rana of those of their great lawgiver Menu. 
When they talk of the wisdom of their ancestors, it is 
not a mere figure of speech. The instruction of 
their princes is laid down in rules held sacred, 
and must have been far more onerous than any 
European system of university education, for scarcely 
a branch of human knowledge is omitted. But the 
cultivation of the mind and the arts of polished life 
must always flourish in the ratio of a nation’s pros¬ 
perity, and from the decline of the one we may date 
the deterioration of the other with the Rajpoot. The 
astronomer has now no patron to look to for reward. 
There is no Jaya Sinha to erect such stupendous 
observatories as he built at Delhi, Benares, Oojein, 
and at his own capital ; to construct globes and 
armillary spheres, of which, according to their own 
and our system, the Cotah prince has two, each 


256 


THE HINDOOS. 


three feet in diameter. The same prince (Jaya Sinha) 
collated De la Hire’s tables with those of Ulug Beg-, 
and presented the result to the last emperor of 
Delhi, worthy the name of the great Mogul. To 
these tables he gave the name of Zij Mohammed 
Shahi. It was Jaya Sinha who, as already mentioned, 
sought to establish sumptuary laws throughout the 
nation to regulate marriages, and thereby prevent 
infanticide, and who left his name to the capital he 
founded, the first in Rajast’han. 

“ But we cannot march over fifty miles of country 
without observing traces of the genius, talent, and 
worth of past days ; though, whether the more 
abstruse sciences, or the lighter arts which embellish 
life—all are now fast disappearing. Whether in the 
tranquillity secured to them by the destruction of 
their predatory foes, these arts and sciences may 
revive, and the nation regain its elevated tone, is a 
problem that time alone can solve 14 .” 

In Zalim Singh, the heir of Marwar, of whose 
history Colonel Tod gives the following outline, 
we have a favourable example of a cultivated Hindoo 
prince. “ He was,’’ says he, “ the son of Rajah 
Beejy Singh, and a princess of Mewar ; but do¬ 
mestic quarrels made it necessary to abandon the 
paternal for the maternal mansion, and a domain 
was assigned by the Rana which put him on a 
footing with his own children. Without neglecting 
any of the martial amusements and exercises of the 
Rajpoot, he gave up all those hours, generally de¬ 
voted to idleness, to the cultivation of letters. He was 
versed in philosophical theology, astronomy, and 
the history of his country, and in every branch of 
poesy, from the sacred canticles of Jayadeva to the 
couplets of the modern bard, he was an adept. He 
composed and improvisoed with facility, and his 
14 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 650, 651. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


257 


residence was the rendezvous for every bard of fame. 
That my respected tutor did not overrate his acquire¬ 
ments, I had the best proof in his own ; for all 
which (and he rated them at an immeasurable dis¬ 
tance compared with the subject of his eulogy) he 
held himself indebted to the heir of Marwar, who 
was at length slain in asserting his right to the 
throne 15 in the desert.” To complete this picture the 
following passage must be added. The writer, it 
will be seen, is an impassioned advocate of the 
Rajpoots; his views are almost exclusively directed 
towards the bright side of the picture ; he even in¬ 
dulges occasionally in indignant'sarcasms against his 
opponents ; but his general knowledge, his experi¬ 
ence, and, above all, his ability, confer peculiar value 
on his testimony. “ After some discourse,” says he, 
describing an interview which took place during his 
travels, “ on the history of past days, with which, 
like every other respectable Rajpoot, I found him 
perfectly conversant, the Ganora chief took his leave, 
with the same courteous and friendly expressions. 
It is after such a conversation that the mind disposed 
to reflection will do justice to the intelligence of 
these people , I do not say this with reference to the 
baron of Ganora, but taking them generally. If by 
history we mean the relation of events in succession, 
with an account of the leading incidents connecting 
them, then are all the Rajpoots versed in this 
science : for nothing is more common than to hear 
them detail their immediate ancestry, or that of their 
prince for many generations, with the events which 
have marked their societies. It is immaterial whe- 
thei he derives this knowledge from the chronicle, 
the chronicler, or both. It not only rescues him 
from the charge of ignorance, but suggests a com¬ 
parison between him and those who constitute them- 
15 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 657. 

z 3 


258 


THE HINDOOS. 


selves judges of nationalities by no means unfavour¬ 
able to the Rajpoot 16 .” 

To return, however, to the Brahmins, and the 
Hindoos in general. In his seventh or ninth year 
the youthful Brahminis introduced, by the investiture 
with the Cord, into the sacred caste 17 . Previous to 
this he is regarded as no better than a Sudra, and 
little or no care appears to be taken to keep the 
priest from the husbandman, or the soldier from the 
artisan who fabricates his sword ; though various 
circumstances concur to interrupt the familiarity of 
the children of very high and very low castes. The 
amusements of children are much the same in all 
countries. In all the love of war, which appears to 
be among the most powerful passions of our nature, 
is very early developed. They divide themselves 
into two parties, representing two hostile nations, 
with certain fixed boundaries, and endeavour to 
make incursions into each other’s territories, without 
being caught. Others, following the example of their 
parents, addict themselves to low gambling, as dice, 
throwing cowries, &c. Kites, leaping, wrestling, 
or boyish imitations of idolatrous ceremonies, enter 
also into the catalogue of their amusements. It 
is a peculiarity of Hindoo manners 18 that youths fre¬ 
quently leave their home at a very early age, without 
the permission or knowledge of their parents, in order 
to perform a pilgrimage to some holy place, or for 
the purpose of bathing in the sacred waters of the 

16 Annals of Rajast’han, &c. p. 692. 

17 “In the eighth year from the conception of a Brahmin, in 
the eleventh from that of a Kshatriya, and in the twelfth from 
that of a Vaisya, let the father invest the child with the mark 
of his class.” Menu, ii. 36, (Jones’s Trans.) Dubois, Descrip¬ 
tion of the People of India, p. 92. 

18 Ward, View of the History, &c. of the Hindoos, vol. i. p. 
162, 163; Bartolomeo, Voyage aux Indes Orientales, tom. ii. 
$>. 30. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


259 


Ganges. Of these boys some return in a few months; 
others never; but they generally write to inform 
their parents to what holy place they have betaken 
themselves 19 . 

The ceremony which constitutes the Brahmin 
youth a member of his sacred caste is remarkable. 
It is the commencement of his political life. Until 
this takes place, he is, in the estimation of the law, 
confounded with the vulgar herd, without privilege, 
without rank, little better than a nonentity. This is 
his investiture with the cord. According to the laws 
of Menu, which have not, however, been more scru¬ 
pulously observed on this point than on many others, 
the Brahmin is to be distinguished from individuals 
of the secular clashes by a cord (named upavita in 
Sanscrit, in Bengali paita), which is worn depend¬ 
ing from the left shoulder, and resting on the right 
side, below the loins. It consists of three thick 
twists of cotton, each formed of numerous smaller 
threads. These three separate twists, which, on 
marriage, are increased to three times three , are 
emblematical of the three great divinities,—-Brahma, 
Yishnu, and Siva,—who constitute the Trimurti, or 
“ Hindoo Trinity.” 

The investiture with the cord is attended by con¬ 
siderable expense. The poorer Brahmins therefore, 
unable of themselves to furnish the necessary sums, 
have recourse to a contribution ; and Hindoos of 
every caste are said to regard liberality on such 
occasions as an act of very great merit. The paita 
itself requires to be made with much care and with 
numerous ceremonies. To avoid the pollution which 
would be caused by the touch of impure hands, the 
cotton of which it is composed must be gathered 
from the plant by the hands of Brahmins only. 

19 Ward, ubi supra. 


260 


THE HINDOOS. 


For the same reason it is to be spun and twisted 
by persons of the same caste. 

When the paita has been properly manufactured, 
the father of the aspirant, who is thenceforward called 
Brahmachari , commences by selecting, agreeably to 
the rules of astrology, the month, the week, the day 
of the week, and the minute of the day, most favour¬ 
able for the performance of the ceremony. An 
entertainment is next to be prepared for the Brah¬ 
mins, the materials of which are rice, peas, pump¬ 
kins, curdled milk, melted butter, cocoa, and the 
various kinds of fruit which happen to be in season. 
Betel in large quantities is to be provided, with pieces 
of new cloth for presents. New culinary utensils, 
both brazen and fictile, “ unconscious of the fire,” 
must likewise be procured ; and these must never 
be used again. The ceremony and the entertainment 
continue four days, and at the close of each, gifts 
must be lavishly bestowed upon the guests. These, 
in general, are exceedingly numerous ; for “ an invi¬ 
tation is given to all the Brahmins, their relations 
and friends, to those who live in the place, and 
those who gave invitations on similar occasions of 
their own. In general, if any one were overlooked 
of those who have the right or the expectation of 
being invited, such a neglect would occasion disputes 
and animosities between the parties concerned that 
would rarely terminate but with life 20 .” 

The guest first invited is the Purohita , or priest. 
On the day appointed he comes, bringing along with 
him the paita , or cord, with a quantity of mango 
leaves, the sacred herb darbha, or kusa, and an 
antelope’s skin to sit upon. The guests being all 
assembled, the Purohita begins by invoking the 
household god ; the house itself having been pre- 

90 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 93. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


261 


viously purified, by the floor and interior of the walls 
being rubbed with cow-dung diluted with water, 
while the exterior is decorated, like the old houses of 
France and Italy, with broad perpendicular stripes 
in red earth. Most of the rites are performed under 
a temporary shed, erected with many ceremonies in 
the court before the house. While the priest is 
chaunting his mantras , or prayers, the statue of 
Vighneswara, the “ God of Obstacles,” is placed 
under the shed. Instead of the image they in many 
cases merely set up a small cone of cow-dung, or 
mud, which the charms of the priest are supposed to 
transform into a god. To propitiate this deity, 
whose wrath is peculiarly dreaded, a sacrifice of 
incense, burning lamps, and grains of rice tinged 
with red, is then offered up before the statue or 
cone. 

Next ail the married wcFiien present, widows 
being excluded from all scenes of this kind, as their 
presence would be ominous of misfortune, remove 
from the assembly, and purify themselves by bathing. 
Some then proceed to prepare the feast, while others 
return to the pandal, where, having caused the young 
Brahmachari to sit down on a small stool, and anoint¬ 
ed him with oil, they bathe and dress him in a new 
garment. They next adorn him with several trin¬ 
kets, put round his neck a string of coral beads, 
and bracelets of the same material on his arms. 
Lastly, they stain the edges of his eyelids with 
black. 

The novices father and mother now cause him 
to sit down between them, in the midst of the 
assembly, and the women perform on him the cere¬ 
mony of the Arati 21 . They then chaunt in chorus 

21 This ceremony consists in placing upon a plate of copper 
a lamp made of paste of rice flour. W hen it has been supplied 
with oil and lighted, the women take hold of the plate with 


262 


THE HINDOOS. 


the praises of the gods, with prayers for the young 
man’s happiness. A sacrifice, consisting of betel, 
rice, and other kinds of food, is next offered up to 
the household god. The feast now commences. 
All the guests being seated in several rows, the 
women apart, and with their backs turned towards 
the men, the ladies of the house wait themselves 
upon the guests, and with their delicate fingers, 
spoons and forks being unknown, serve out the 
rice and other dishes. The plates are nothing but 
leaves of the banana or other trees, sewed together, 
and never used a second time. 

Next day the invitations are renewed, and the 
company assembles as before. The father of the 
youth waits in person on each of his guests, bearing 
in his hand a cup filled with akshata , or stained 
rice, of which they take up a few of the grains, 
and stick them on their foreheads as an ornament. 
“ The assembly being formed, the Brahmachari with 
his father and mother all ascend the pile of earth 
thrown up beneath the shed, and seat themselves on 
three little stools. In the mean time the young 
man is bathed in the same manner as on the former 
day ; they deck his brows with sandal and akshata , 
and gird his loins with a pure cloth, that is to say a 
cloth not handled since it was washed. All these 
ceremonies are accompanied with the songs of the 
women, the same as on the preceding day 22 .” 

These ceremonies concluded, the priest enters, 
bearing fire in an earthen vase, which he places upon 
the pile. Several mantras are then recited. After 
which the father of the novice advances, and offers 

both hands, and raising it as high as the head of the person for 
whom the ceremony is performed, describe a number of circles 
in the air with the plate and the burning lamp. The intention 
of the Arati is to avert the effect of evil glances. Dubois, p. 86. 

22 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 95. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


263 


up a sacrifice to Fire and the Nine 2 ' 0 Planets. The 
former, which is called the homa, the Brahmins 
alone have the privilege of performing. It is simply 
a fire, kindled with a kind of consecrated wood, 
into the flames of which they cast a little boiled rice 
sprinkled with melted butter. “ The fire, thus con¬ 
secrated, is afterwards carried into a particular 
apartment of the house, and kept up day and night 
with great care until the ceremony is ended. It 
would be considered a very inauspicious event, if 
for want of attention, or by any accident, it should 
happen to go out.” 

The women now come again upon the scene •— 
“ Having procured a large copper vessel, well whit¬ 
ened over with lime, they go with it to draw water, 
accompanied with instruments of music. Having 
filled the vessel, they place in it perpendicularly some 
leaves of mango, and fasten a new cloth round the 
whole, made yellow with saffron water. On the neck 
of the vessel, which is narrow, they put a cocoa-nut 
stained with the same colour as the cloth. In this 
trim they carry it into the interior of the house, and 
set it on the floor upon a little heap of rice There 
it is still farther ornamented with women’s trinkets, 
after which the necessary ceremonies are performed 
to invite the god, and to fix him there. This per¬ 
haps is not the same as the god of the house, or 
rather it is the apotheosis of the vessel itself that is 
made in this case, for it actually becomes a divinity, 
receiving offerings of incense, flowers, betel, and 
other articles used in the sacrifices of the Brahmins. 

23 « The Hindoos reckon them nine, because, in addition to 
the seven which we admit with them, they add the increasing and 
waning moon, as two distinct planets. These nine are con¬ 
sidered as malevolent deities; and they are generally sent by the 
magicians on the errand of tormenting the objects of their 
resentment.” Dubois^ p. 96. 


264 


THE HINDOOS. 


Upon this occasion only, women act and perform 
the deification ; and it appears that the divinity 
resident in the vessel is female. But however this 
may be, the mother of the Brahmachari, baking up 
in her hands this new divinity, goes out of the house, 
accompanied by the other Brahmin women, visits 
the festival, preceded by musical instruments, and 
makes the circuit of the village, walking under a 
sort of canopy which is supported over the head. 
Upon returning home she sets the vessel god , which 
she has in her hands, where it was formerly stationed 
under the shed, and with the assistance of some 
of the other women, she fixes in honour of the god 
two new cloths on the pillars of the alcove near 
which it is placed 24 .” 

Having accomplished this ceremony, the women, 
who are fully employed and highly amused on those 
occasions, once more leave the house in search of 
mould from a nest of Jcarias , or “ white ants.” 
With this they fill five small earthen vases, in which 
they sow nine sorts of grain, and moisten the whole 
with milk and water. These five vases are then 
converted by the mantras of the Brahmins into so 
many gods. The Pantheon being thus enriched 
with five new divinities, sacrifices of incense, rice, and 
betel are made to them, and the whole assembly 
bow down before the vases in adoration. The 
manes 25 of their ancestors are then invoked to be 
present at the feast. Then turning to the Brahma¬ 
chari, they bind on his arm a piece of bastard 
saffron with a yellow cord, the barber shaves his 
head, he is bathed, his brows are crowned with a 

24 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 96, 97. 

25 “ The gods of their ancestors,” according to Dubois; but 
we think it clear from the context that it should be rather the 
manes of their ancestors than their gods, who, in fact, were 
the same with their own. Description, &c. p. 97. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


265 


wreath of sandal leaves, and his loins are girt with a 
pure cloth. 

A feast is now given to the young Brahmins, 
which is immediately succeeded by the most imposing 
ceremony which takes place during the investiture. 
“ The father of the new Brahmin, having made the 
company retire to some distance, whilst he and his 
son are concealed behind a curtain, sits down upon 
the ground with his face turned towards the west, 
and making his son sit down beside him with his 
face towards the east, he whispers a deep secret 
in his ear, out of the mantras, and gives him other 
instructions analogous to his present situation. The 
whole is in a style which probably is little com¬ 
prehended by the listener. Among other precepts, 
I am informed the father on one occasion delivered 
the following : Be mindful, my son, that there is 
one God only, the master, sovereign, and origin of all 
things. Him ought every Brahmin in secret to adore. 
But remember also, that this is one of the truths that 
must never be revealed to the vulgar herd. If thou 
dost reveal it, great evil will befall thee’ 26 .” 

In the evening, the sacred fire which had been 
kindled on the first day, and preserved with super¬ 
stitious care, is brought forth from the house, and 
placed beside the youth under the pandal, with 
songs and rejoicing. Mantras are recited, the women 
chaunt new songs, and the discordant sound of 
various instruments rends the air. Betel and pre¬ 
sents are then distributed, and the rites are con¬ 
cluded, ^though the entertainments usually continue 
during two days more 27 . 

In India, as in almost all eastern countries, the 
youth of both sexes are strictly separated; hence 

26 Dubois, Description of the Manners, &c> of the People of 
India, p. 98. 

27 Ibid. p. 91—99. 

VOL. I. 2 A 


266 


THE HINDOOS. 


their usages relating to marriages offer many striking 
peculiarities. When it is known in his neighbour¬ 
hood that a man has a daughter of a marriageable 
age, a lover very quickly presents himself; for in 
India few or no women are condemned to live in 
a state of celibacy. Sometimes both parties are in¬ 
fants, in which case the preliminaries are settled by 
the parents, who employ a ghataka , or “ negotiator,” 
to discover suitable partners for their children, and 
conduct the business of marriage. Among the Su- 
dras boys are frequently married at the age of five 
years ; the Brahmins, on the contrary, must delay 
the celebration of marriage until the boy, by the 
ceremony of the cord, has become a member of the 
sacred caste; that is, in general, until after his ninth 
year 28 . According to the common practice, how¬ 
ever, sixteen is, among the Brahmins, the age at 
which a youth is expected to seek a wife; who, on 
her part, must not exceed the age of four or five 
years 29 . But, whatever may be the age of the con¬ 
tracting parties, the important business of courtship 
is generally transferred to a third person, who in 
most cases is the father of the lover. 

When the youthful Brahmin, having completed 
his studies, expresses his desire to assume the rank 
of a married man, his father is directed by the laws 
to present him with a copy of the Vedas. Then the 
youth, decked with a garland of flowers, is to sit 
down on an elegant bed, and his father is to honour 
him with the gift of a cow, the symbol of Venus. 
The Hindoo legislator condescends to instruct the in¬ 
experienced novice in the choice of a partner. He 
cautions the lover against selecting a girl with red 

28 Ward, vol. i. p. 164. The age of nine years is fixed by 
the “ Institutes of Menu” as the earliest at which a Brahmin 
may contract marriage. Chap. iii. ver. i. 

29 Dubois, Manners, &c. of the Hindoos, p. 100. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


267 


hair; from which we learn the fact that this coloured 
hair is sometimes found among Hindoo women. 
Neither should he choose a girl with no hair, or with 
too much ; nor one deformed in her person; nor in 
delicate health; nor immoderately talkative; nor 
with inflamed eyes. But this is not all: the lover is 
to avoid a girl “ with the name of a constellation, of 
a tree, or of a river, of a barbarous nation, or of a 
mountain, of a winged creature, a snake, or a slave, 
nor one with any name raising an image of terror. 
Let him choose for his wife a girl whose form has 
no defect, who has an agreeable name, who walks 
gracefully, like a phenicopteros or like a young 
elephant; whose hair and teeth are moderate respec¬ 
tively in quantity and size, whose body has an ex¬ 
quisite softness 30 .” 

When the father of the lover determines to com¬ 
mence his suit, he first takes care to ascertain that 
he is not likely to suffer the affront of a refusal. 
He then, having fixed upon a fortunate day, selects 
a number of small presents, as a cocoa-nut, a little 
saffron, fine bananas, and a piece of muslin for the 
ladies of the harem, and, with these in his hands, 
proceeds towards the house of the bride elect. 
Should any animal of evil omen, as a cat, a fox, or a 
serpent cross the path before him, he returns home, 
and postpones the visit to a more fortunate day. 
The proposal having been made, and the presents 
offered, the father of the girl defers his answer, 
until one of those small lizards which creep about 
old walls, uttering a faint shrill cry, has chirped a 
favourable omen. As soon, however, as the lizard 
has spoken , as they say, the maiden’s father, per¬ 
suaded that the gods are propitious, gives his con¬ 
sent ; and after the performance of numerous cere¬ 
monies, equivalent to our betrothment, the nuptial 
30 Institutes of Menu, chap. iii. ver. 9,1(. 


268 


THE HINDOOS. 


day is fixed. This important day, selected by the 
astrologers, generally falls in one of the four months, 
—March, April, May, and June,—which the ancient 
legislators of Hindoostan set apart, as it were, for 
the solemnization of marriage, though the ceremony 
may also take place, under certain circumstances, in 
November and February. The selection of the 
four summer months for the celebration of marriage 
is traced by some writers to superstitious, and by 
others to civil motives. The labours of the field 
being almost wholly suspended during that portion 
of the year, on account of the intense heat, more 
leisure, it is observed, is then afforded for the proper 
conducting of this important transaction. 

The ceremonies attending the celebration of mar¬ 
riage are numerous, and in some instances not a 
little ludicrous. During the night preceding the 
nuptial day, the houses of the parents of both bride 
and bridegroom resound with rude loud music, 
and burning lamps are placed at the doors by 
women, who utter wishes for the happiness and 
long life of the youth and'his consort. At the same 
time balls of rice paste are set up with joy and 
laughter by the ladies, who, towards the close of 
the night, eat rice with the bride and bridegroom. 
Early on the following morning, the ladies again 
assemble. The hilarity recommences. With burning 
lamps, a vessel of pure water, balls of rice flour, 
and a quantity of betel in their hands, they proceed 
to visit the neighbouring families, and present them 
with betel. 

They then return home, and the rites are con¬ 
tinued. After placing the future husband and wife 
upon a frame-work, or wicket, of bamboo, and thrice 
waving round their feet a wisp of lighted straw, the 
women take a ball of thread, and encompassing the 
bamboo frame-work four times, bind the betrothed 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


269 


pair together, fastening one end of the thread on the 
right arm of the youth, and the left arm of the 
maiden, with a few blades of durva grass 31 . The 
bodies of the bride and bridegroom are next anointed 
with fragrant unguents. When these ceremonies 
are completed, little offerings, intended to secure 
the happiness of the betrothed, are made at the 
houses of both parents to the manes of their de¬ 
ceased ancestors. Presents of betel, fruit, and sweet¬ 
meats are then exchanged between the bride and 
bridegroom ; and in the course of the afternoon 
their heads are shaved. Immediately after the per¬ 
formance of this part of the ceremony, a large stone 
is placed in the midst of a small artificial pond of 
water, surrounded by trees, in which are suspended 
lamps with wicks made of the fruit of the thorn- 
apple plant. Upon this stone the bridegroom stands, 
and the women, with the burning lamps, rice-balls, 
&c.; in their hands, approach him in mystic file, 
and successively touch his forehead with the various 
objects which they bear. The bride, bridegroom, 
and all the principal personages concerned, fast 
until the whole ceremony of the nuptials is com¬ 
pleted 32 . 

In the marriages of persons of distinction, who 
expend vast sums on these occasions, the business is 
conducted with much pomp and splendour. In the 
night, and at a fortunate hour, the bridegroom, 
superbly dressed, glittering with golden ornaments, 

31 The sort of grass named durvct in Sanscrit, is, according 
to Wilson, the Agrostis linearis ; according to Carey, the 
Panicum dactylon of Linnaeus. 

32 Ward, vol.i.p. 170. “LeBrahme,”saysBartolomeo, “fait 
agenouiller l’epoux, lui met sur la tete une romaglia ou toque, 
une chaine d’or au cou, un anneau d’or au doigt, du sandal et du 
councouTiM au front, y tra^ant’avec son doigt une demi-lune, astre 
qui.est en grande veneration chez les Indous.” Voyage aux 
Indes Orientales, tom. ii. p. 49. 


2 a 3 


270 


THE HINDOOS. 


and having a gorgeous crown upon his head, pro¬ 
ceeds in a gilded palankeen to the dwelling of the 
bride. In the palankeen stand four servants, one at 
each corner, fanning him, or waving over his head a 
kind of brush made from the tail of the cow of 
Tartary 33 . Before him moves a long procession, 
consisting of servants bearing silver staves ; a num¬ 
ber of open carriages containing singers and dancing 
girls; horses, camels, and elephants richly capari¬ 
soned, one of which bears a huge metal drum, from 
which a loud hollow sound is elicited as the pro¬ 
cession advances. The streets are illuminated by 
the flambeaux and tapers which the attendants carry 
in their hands, and by the numerous fireworks, 
placed on both sides of the road, which are discharged 
as they move along. Here and there among the 
crowd are several musicians, playing on various 
instruments. Since the conquest of India by the 
English, these musicians are frequently Europeans. 
Guns also are fired at intervals. 

“ At a marriage, the procession of which,” says 
Ward, “ I saw some years ago, the bridegroom came 
from a distance, and the bride lived in Serampore, 
to which place the bridegroom was to come by 
water. After waiting two or three hours, at length 
near midnight, it was announced, as if in the very 
words of scripture, ‘ Behold the bridegroom cometh, 
go ye out to meet him.’ All the persons employed 
now lighted their lamps, and ran with them in their 
hands to fill up their stations in the procession ; 
some of them had lost their lights, and were un¬ 
prepared , but it was then too late to seek them, and 
the cavalcade, something like the above, moved 

83 This brush is called chamara, because’it is formed of the 
tail of the chamara, or wild cow (Bos grunniens ), the hairs of 
which are exquisitely fine, and of a pale yellow tint. Asiat. 
Research, vol. iii. p. 560. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


271 


forwards to the house ot the bride, at which place 
the company entered a large and splendidly illumi¬ 
nated area, before the house, covered with an awning, 
where a great multitude of friends, dressed in their 
best apparel, were seated upon mats. The bride¬ 
groom was carried in the arms of a friend, and placed 
upon a superb seat in the midst of the company, 
where he sat a short time, and then went into the 
house, the*door of which was immediately shut, 
and guarded by seapoys. I and others expostulated 
with the doorkeepers, but in vain. Never was I so 
struck with our Lord’s beautiful parable as at this 
moment: ‘ And the door was shut! ’ I was ex¬ 
ceedingly anxious to be present while the marriage 
formulas were repeated, but was obliged to depart 
in disappointment 34 .” 

These marriage processions, when passing through 
the village, in coming from a distance to the bride’s 
house, are frequently attacked in the darkness by 
mischievous boys and young men; but such rencontres, 
begun in sport, sometimes terminate seriously with 
the loss of many lives. The bridegroom, as soon as 
he has entered the house, is undressed by his father- 
in-law, who then clothes him with new garments. 
He is then conducted into an inner apartment, and 
made to stand upon a stool, beneath which a cow’s 
head and various other sacred things are buried in 
the earth. The bride is then brought in upon 
another similar stool, covered with the old garments 
of the bridegroom, and borne seven times round her 
future lord ; after which they gaze upon each other, 
approach, and sit down together. The father-in-law 
then presents the bridegroom with fourteen blades 
of the fragrant kusa grass, pours water into the 
palm of his right hand, and reads a mantra or in 

34 View of the History, See. of the Hindoos, vol. i. p. 171, 
172. 


272 


THE HINDOOS. 


cantation over it. The water is then spilt on the 
ground. Other minute ceremonies follow. Then 
the officiating Brahmin, having directed the youth 
to put his hand into a vessel of water, approaches 
with the girl, and placing her hand upon that of her 
husband, binds them together with a garland of 
flowers. When the bride has been formally given 
and received, the garland of flowers is removed, 
while the father of the bride repeats the Gayatri y 
or holiest verse of the Vedas. A kind of curtain is 
then drawn over the heads of the married pair, who 
once more regard each other; after which they are 
directed to bow to the Salagrama and the com¬ 
pany, and to invoke the blessing of the gods and 
Brahmins. During these ceremonies, portions of 
the Misra, a work on the various orders of the 
Hindoos, are rehearsed by the Ghatakas, and the 
foreheads of the guests marked with the powder of 
sandal wood. The bride and bridegroom are then 
fastened together by their garments, in token of 
union, and are then led back into the midst of the 
family 35 . 

Among a people who set little value upon time, 
ceremonies are always numerous; but although they 
may be amusing in the performance, the description 
of them is frequently tedious. We therefore omit 
several minute observances. But there are in differ¬ 
ent parts of the country variations in the marriage 
ceremonies, some of which should not, perhaps, be 
omitted. Among the Brahmins of Western India, 
the bridegroom, who in circumstances so important 
should be exempt from all sin, offers an expiatory 
gift to a person of his own order, which is supposed 

35 Ward, History, Literature, &c. of the Hindoos, vol. i. p. 
163,178 ; Dubois, Description of the People of India, p. 132, 
146 ; Bartolomeo, Voyage aux Indes Orientates, tom. ii. p. 36, 
78; Sonnerat, Voyage aux Indes, tom. i. p. 67, 85. 


MANNERAS ND CUSTOMS. 273 

to purify him from all his transgressions. This act 
of charity is succeeded by a sort of interlude, 
which, as Dubois justly observes, appears very 
absurd in the midst of the marriage preparations. 
“ The bridegroom feigns an eager desire to quit 
the country, upon a pilgrimage to Benares, to wash 
himself there in the sacred waters of the Ganges. 
He equips himself as a traveller, and being supplied 
with some provisions for the journey, he departs 
with instruments of music sounding before him, 
and accompanied by several of his relations and 
friends, in the same manner as when a person is 
really proceeding on that holy adventure. But no 
sooner has he got out of the village, than, upon 
turning towards the east, he meets his future father- 
in-law, who, learning the object of his expedition, 
stops him, and offers him his daughter in marriage, 
if he will desist from his journey. The pilgrim 
readily accepts the conditions, and they return 
together to the house 36 .” 

On his return the ceremonies proceed as already 
described. In the midst of them, the youth is 
directed to seat himself with his face towards the 
east; his future father-in-law then approaches him, 
and, looking steadily in his countenance, imagines 
he beholds before him the god Vishnu. Under this 
impression, the youth, thus transformed into a 
celestial being by mistake, is propitiated with sacri¬ 
fice, and the comedy is continued by his having his 
feet washed with water and with milk mixed with 
cow-dung. The persuasion of his divinity now 
vanishes, and he is ordered to fix all his thoughts 
upon the deities, first collectively, afterwards sepa¬ 
rately. “ To this invocation of the gods, he subjoins 
that of the seven famous penitents, the five virgins, 
the ancestor gods, the seven mountains, the woods, 
36 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 140, 141. 


274 


THE HINDOOS. 


the seas, the eight cardinal points, the fourteen 
worlds, the year, the season, the month, the day, 
the minute, and many other particulars which must 
be likewise named and invoked 37 .’’ 

To this succeeds the joining of hands, and the 
libation of water, the primitive element, the symbol 
of Vishnu, over their united palms, by which the 
father solemnly resigns his daughter to her future 
lord. This ceremony, the most important of all, 
appears to be the foundation of the marriage. This 
being concluded, there follows another of but little 
inferior consequence. “ All married women in 
India wear at their necks a small ornament of 
gold called tahly , which is the sign of their being 
actually in the state of marriage. When they be¬ 
come widows this ornament is removed with great 
form. There is engraved upon it the figure of 
Vighneswara, or of Lakshmi, or of some other divi¬ 
nity in estimation with the caste, and is fastened by 
a short string dyed yellow with saffron, composed of 
one hundred and eight threads of great fineness. 
Before tying it round the neck of the bride, she is 
made to sit down by the side of her husband, and, 
after some slight preliminary ceremonies, ten Brah¬ 
mins make a partition with a curtain of silk, which 
they extend from one to another, between them and 
the wedded pair, while the rest are reciting the 
mantras, and invoking Brahma and Saraswati, 
Vishnu and Lakshmi, Siva and Parvati, and several 
more; always coupling each god with his consort. 
The ornament is now brought in to be fastened 
to the neck of the bride. It is presented on a salver, 
neatly decked and garnished with sweet smelling 
flowers. Incense is offered to it, and it is pre¬ 
sented to the assistants, each of whom touches and 
invokes blessings upon it. The bride then turning 
37 Dubois, Description, p. 141. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


275 


towards the east, the bridegroom takes the tahly, 
and reciting a mantra aloud, binds it round her 
neck, 

“ Fire is then brought in, the bridegroom offers up 
sacrifice, and taking his bride by the hand, they 
walk thrice round the fire while the incense is 
blazing. He then stoops down, and taking the 
bride by the ankle, touches her with a small sandal 
stone , so called because it is made with paste of 
that odoriferous wood. During this ceremony it is 
prescribed that he shall have his thoughts fixed upon 
the 4 Great Mountain of the North,’ the original 
country of the Brahmins. After this two baskets 
of bamboo, regarded as the most pure of all wood, 
are brought in and placed close together. The 
bride and bridegroom step each into one of these 
baskets, where they stand upright. Two other 
baskets, filled with ground rice, are then introduced, 
of which one is delivered to each of the married 
pair, who alternately pour the contents over each 
other’s heads, until they are weary. Among some 
castes this part of the rites is performed by the 
attendants. It is meant to be an omen of their 
good fortune. In the marriage of great princes and 
Rajas, baskets of pearls are sometimes used during 
this ceremony instead of corn 38 .” 

On the fourth day of the festival the bridegroom 
and bride eat together from the same plate, in token 
of the most intimate union. But, during their whole 
lives, this is the first and last time, says Dubois, 
they ever sit down to a meal together 39 . “ On the 

36 Dubois, Description of the People of India, p. 141,* 143. 

39 During his residence in the Maidive Islands, Ibn 
Batuta, who had there married several wives, endeavoured to 
prevail on these ladies to honour him with their presence at 
table, but could never succeed. It was contrary to custom. 
See Travels of Ibn Batuta, p, 179. “ To eabfrom the same 


276 


THE HINDOOS. 


last day a ceremony is practised remarkable for its 
singularity. When the husband offers the sacrifice 
of the homa, and when in the usual form he is 
casting into the fire the boiled rice sprinkled with 
melted butter, the bride approaches and does the 
same on her part with rice that has been parched. 
This is the only instance that I know where a woman 
takes part in this sacrifice, which is the most sacred 
and solemn of all, except the Yajna 40 .” 

These various ceremonies being concluded, and 
the marriage regarded as complete, the bride and 
bridegroom sleep upon the same mat, and rising 
up in the morning, proceed, after the performance 
of various new ceremonies, to their future home. 
The rites, however, are not yet exhausted. The 
husband’s mother, with all the ladies of the family, 
now approaches the bride, muttering incoherent 
sounds, and having placed a fish in the folds of 
her garments, and put sweetmeats into the mouths 
of the bridal pair, pours milk mixed with red lead 
upon the young lady’s feet, and places a measure of 
corn upon her head. They all then proceed into 
the interior of the house, the husband taking corn 
from the basket on his wife’s head, and scattering 
it about as he moves. A burnt sacrifice is next 
offered, and the husband and wife take a small 

platter” has always been a mark o£ peculiar affection in 
the East. Colonel Tod, a curious and original observer of 
manners, describes the recognition of the rank of a prince of 
Cheetore, who had been nursed and educated in obscurity, 
by the practice of this custom. “ A court was formed, when 
the faithful Assa Sah resigned his trust, and placed the prince 
of Cheetore ‘ in the lap of the Cotario Chohan,’ as the ‘ great 
ancient’ among the nobles of Mewar, who was throughout 
acquainted with the secret, and who, to dissipate the remaining 
scruples which attached to the infant’s preservation, ‘ ate off 
the same platter with him.”' Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. 
p. 317. 

40 Dubois, p. 144. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


277 


quantity of parched rice, and a number of the 
leaves of the shami tree (Acacia suma) in their 
hands, while the wife exclaims, “ I am come from 
the family of my father into your family; and now 
my life and all I have are yours.” The husband 
then walks seven times round a fire altar, invoking 
the god of that element to be witness of his vows, 
casts the rice into the flames, and taking up a little 
clarified butter, which is afterwards also thrown 
into the flames, replies to his wife, “ Your heart is 
in mine, and my heart is in yours, and both are 
one.” He then draws a veil over her face, to denote 
that henceforward he alone has the right to look 
upon her; and with a few additional rites, which 
need not be described, the festival of marriage 
concludes. 

Among the warlike Rajpoots, who preserve more 
of the customs of their ancestors than any other 
tribe of Hindoos, the princes frequently allow their 
daughters to choose their own husbands 41 . The 
father, like Tyndarus of old, invites a number of 
princes to his court, where they are amused and 
entertained with feasting and mirth. The princess, 
who beholds the youthful assembly, consults her 
eyes, and is united to the object of her preference 42 . 
Alluding to this remarkable custom, Colonel Tod 
observes : ‘ c The romantic history of the Chohan 

41 This public choice of a husband by a princess from a 
number of suitors assembled for the purpose, is in Sanscrit 
called Swayamvara. Several instances of this ceremony are 
mentioned in the old epic poems of the Hindoos. See the 
Raghuvansa of Calidasa, chap. vi. (Stenzler’s edition, London, 
1832, p. 38, &c.), and the episode of Nala and Damayanti 
from the Mahabharata, chap. v. (Bopp’s second edition, 
Berlin, 1832, p. 26, &c.) See also the Institutes of Menu, 
chap. ix. ver. 90. 

42 The Puranas, cited by Ward, vol. i. p. 164. 

VOL. I. 2 B 


278 


THE HINDOOS 


emperor of Delhi abounds in sketches of female 
character, and in the story of his carrying off Sun- 
jogta, the princess of Canouj, we have not only 
the individual portrait of the Helen of her country, 
but in it a faithful picture of the sex. We see her 
from the moment when rejecting the assembled 
princes, she threw the garland of marriage round 
the neck of her hero, the Chohan, abandon herself 
to all the influences of passion—mix in a combat of 
five days’ continuance against her father’s array, 
witness his overthrow, and the carnage of both 
armies, and subsequently, by her seductive charms, 
lulling her lover into a neglect of every princely duty. 
Yet, when the foes of his glory and power invade 
India, we see the enchantress at once start from her 
trance of pleasure; and exchanging the softer for the 
sterner passions, in accents not less strong because 
mingled with deep affection, she conjures him, while 
arming him for the battle, to die for his fame, de¬ 
claring that she will join him in the ‘ mansions of the 
Sun’ 43 .” 

To this we cannot resist the temptation to add 
another illustrative and highly striking anecdote from 
the annals of Jessulmere, the most remote of the 
Rajpoot states, and forming an oasis in the heart of 
the desert. “ Raningdeo was lord of Poogul, a fief 
of Jessulmere ; his heir, named Sadoo, was the terror 
of the desert, carrying his raids even to the valley of 
the Indus, and on the east to Nagore. Returning 
from a foray, with a train of captured camels and 
horses* he passed by Aureent, where dwelt Manik 
Rao, the chief of the Mohils, whose rule extended 
over one thousand four hundred and forty villages. 
Being invited to partake of the hospitality of the 


43 Annals of Rajast’han, voli. p. 623. 


MANNERS.AND CUSTOMS. 


279 


Mohil, the heii of Poogul, attracted the favourable 
regards of the old chieftain’s daughter : 

* She loved him for the dangers he had passed j’ 

for he had the fame of being the first riever of the 
desert. Although betrothed to the heir of the Rah- 
tore of Mundore, she signified her wish to renounce 
the throne to be the bride of the chieftain of Poogul; 
and in spite of the dangers he provoked, and contrary 
to the Mohil chief’s advice, Sadoo, as a gallant Raj¬ 
poot, dared not reject the overture, and he promised 
to accept the coco, if sent in form to Poogul. In 
due time it came, and the nuptials were solemnized 
at Aureent. The dower was splendid; gems of high 
price, vessels of gold and silver, a golden bull, and a 
train of thirteen devadharis, or damsels of wisdom 
and penetration. Irrinkowal, the slighted heir of 
Mundore, determined on revenge, and with four 
thousand Rahtores planted himself in the path of 
Sadoo’s return, aided by the Sankla Mehraj, whose 
son Sadoo had slain. Though entreated to add four 
thousand Mohils to his escort, Sadoo deemed his own 
gallant band of seven hundred Bhattis sufficient to 
convey his bride to his desert abode, and with diffi¬ 
culty accepted fifty, led by Megraj, the brother of 
the bride. The rivals encountered at Chondun, 
where Sadoo had halted to repose; but the brave 
Rahtore scorned the advantage of numbers, and a 
series of single combats ensued, with all the forms 
of'chivalry. The first who entered the lists was Jey- 
tanga, of the Pahoo clan, and of the kin of Sadoo 

.The son of Chonda, admiring his sangfroid , 

and the address with which he guided his steed, 
commanded Joda Chohan, the leader of his party, to 
encounter the Pahoo. Their two-edged swords soon 
clashed in combat; but the gigantic Chohan fell 



280 


THE HINPOOS. 


beneath the Bhatti, who, warmed with the fight, 
plunged amidst his foes, encountering all he deemed 
worthy his assault. 

“ The fray thus begun, single combats and actions 
of equal parties followed, the rivals looking on. At 
length Sadoo mounted: twice he charged the Rah- 
tore ranks, carrying death on his lance; each time 
he returned for the applause of his bride, who beheld 
the battle from her car. Six hundred of his foes had 
fallen, and nearly half his own warriors. He bade 
her a last adieu, while she exhorted him to fight, 
saying, “ she would witness his deeds, and if he fell, 
would follow him even in death.’ Now he singled 
out his rival, Irrinkowal, who was alike eager to end 
the strife, and blot out his disgrace in his blood. 
They met; some seconds were lost in a courteous 
contention, each yielding to his rival the first blow, at 
length dealt out by Sadoo, on the neck of the dis¬ 
appointed Rahtore. It was returned with the rapidity 
of lightning, and the daughter of the Mohil saw the 
Bteel descend on the head of her lover. Both fell 
prostrate to the earth ; but Sadoo’s soul had sped, 
the Rahtoore had only swooned. With the fall of 
the leaders the battle ceased ; and the fair cause of 
strife, Corumdevi, at once a virgin, a wife, and a 
widow, prepared to follow her affianced. Calling 
for a sword, with one arm she dissevered the other, 
desiring it might be conveyed to the father of her 
lord,—‘ tell him such was his daughter.’ The other 
she commanded to be struck off, and given with her 
marriage jewels thereon, to the bard of the Mohils. 
The pile was prepared on the field of battle; and 
taking her lord in her embrace, she gave herself up 
to the devouring flames. The dissevered limbs were 
disposed of as commanded ; the old Rao of Poogul 
caused the one to be burnt, and a tank was exca* 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


281 


vated on the spot, which is still called after the 
heroine, ‘ the lake of Corumdevi’ 44 .” 

Having thus described the numerous grotesque 
ceremonies which accompany the solemnization of 
marriage, we proceed to the consideration of a more 
difficult subject—the subject of polygamy. It would 
be easy to follow the example of the ordinary histo¬ 
rians of Hindoo manners, in substituting the com¬ 
mandments of the law for the practices of the people; 
but this would be to show, not what the Hindoos 
are, and always have been, but what their legislators 
endeavoured, many thousands of years ago, to render 
them. The manners of the Hindoos were never, as 
we have already observed, conformable to the precepts 
of their lawgivers, which, like the sanguinary institu¬ 
tions of Draco, were in a great measure neglected as 
soon as promulgated. In fact, enduring political 
institutions are the effect, not the cause, of national 
character; and, like the garments which we wear, 
rather adjust themselves to the figure of the sub¬ 
stance around which they are flung, than mould or 
modify it to correspond with their own form. For 
this reason, all such institutions as are not congenial 
to the character and temper of the people for whom 
they are framed, are quickly thrown aside, or so 
greatly modified as to be no longer the same things. 

In Hindoostan, as in other countries, men have 
always endeavoured to reconcile the dictates of pas¬ 
sion with those of reason, and have thus been guilty 
of considerable inconsistency and extravagance. In 
those early stages of society, when the refinements 
of love are altogether unknown, offspring is the 
primary, if not the sole arm of marriage. Men would 
naturally be disappointed and dissatisfied, therefore, 
whenever their wives were barren; and the desire 
would arise of forming a new connection with some 
44 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 627, 629. 

2 b 3 


282 


THE HINDOOS. 


other woman. But, as during long and close inti¬ 
macy habits of affection and mutual attachment 
would generally be engendered, the man would be 
unwilling to discard the companion of his bosom; 
and the woman, on her part, being no less desirous 
of offspring than her husband, would consent, like 
Sarah, to the introduction of a new spouse into the 
family, over whom, from greater maturity of years, 
and the habit of influencing her husband’s affections, 
she would maintain, under almost all circumstances, 
a natural and decided superiority. Such appears to 
have been the origin of polygamy, both in India and 
every other country where it has prevailed; and 
though other reasons may have contributed to pro¬ 
long and extend its influence, the desire of offspring 
was doubtless one of its principal causes. 

This view of the question is perfectly borne out by 
experience. Though polygamy, observes Bartolo¬ 
meo, be permitted by the Hindoo laws for the sake 
of children, when a man marries several wives there 
is always a chief wife of the husband’s own caste, 
who manages the household affairs. She is called, 
“ the united”—“ the principal”—“ the superior”— 
“ the mother of the family,” &c., the others are 
denominated upastri or bhogya , i. e. concubines 45 . 
The children of the first are the legitimate heirs; 
those of the inferior wives, among the higher orders, 
being from the moment of their birth considered as 
belonging to one or the other of the mixed castes, 
from which these secondary wives are generally 
taken. Kings who have no wife of their own caste 
have, therefore, no legitimate heirs 46 . Notwith¬ 
standing the permission of the law, it is uncommon 

45 The chief rule belongs of right to the first wife, according 
to the Sastra; but this authority is sometimes set aside. Ward, 
vol. i. p. 180. 

46 Bartolomeo, Voyage aux Indes Orientales, tom. ii. p. 38. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, 


283 


here as well as in Turkey to find a man with more 
than one wife, if you except the princes 47 , and cer¬ 
tain profligate Brahmins, who sometimes marry a 
host of wives, in different parts of the country, and 
wandering about from one to the other, quarter 
themselves upon the families of these women, who, 
for the most part, lead no less abandoned lives than 
their husbands. 

But upon the question of polygamy, the opinion 
of writers is not quite unanimous. The Abbd Du¬ 
bois, who is said to have passed upwards of thirty 
years of his life in the Mysore, maintains, that by the 
laws of India men are restricted to one wife. “ I 
have taken great pains/’ says he, “ to learn what is 
the real spirit of Hindoo jurisprudence on the subject 
of polygamy, and the indissolubility of marriage ; 
and although I have not arrived at any absolute cer¬ 
tainty, all that I have observed appears to demon¬ 
strate that the former is prohibited, and the latter 
established. Persons well acquainted with the usages 
of the country have confirmed me in this conclusion, 
and have assured me that if there be many instances 
of polygamy, particularly among the great, who are 
suffered to have a plurality of wives, yet it is really 
an abuse and an open violation of the customs of the 
Hindoos, among whom marriage has always been 
confined to couples, though in all places the power¬ 
ful will set themselves above the law 48 .*’ This view 

47 « The number of queens,” says Colonel Tod, “ is deter¬ 
mined only by state necessity and the fancy of the prince. To 
have them equal in number to the days of the week, is not un¬ 
usual ; while the number of handmaids is unlimited. It will 
he conceded, that the prince who can govern such a household, 
and maintain equal rights, when claims to pre-eminence must 
be perpetually asserted, possesses no little tact. The govern¬ 
ment, of the kingdom is but an amusement compared with 
such a task, for it is within the Rawula'(Harem) that intrigua 
is enthroned.” Annals of Rajast’han, p. 307. 

48 Description, &c. p. 135. 


284 


THE HINDOOS. 


of the subject he ingeniously maintains by bringing 
forward the example of the gods; none of whom, 
he remarks, are represented with more than one 
wife. It would seem, however, that the Abbd has 
mistaken the state of the question. Polygamy, as we 
have already observed, was never, by the laws of any 
country, permitted, gxcept for the sake of progeny; 
and for this cause it is still allowed in Hindoostan. 
“ I know of one case only ,” he observes, “ where a 
man already married may lawfully espouse a second 
wife; which is, when the first bears him no children. 
But even in this case, the consent of the first wife is 
necessary, and she always continues to be considered 
as the man’s principal wife, and as superior to the 
second. Neither is this second marriage conducted 
with half the ceremony as the former 49 .” 

Ward, who appears reluctant to admit any thing 
which can make in favour of the Hindoos, confesses 
that, in general, it is for the sake of progeny only 
that men marry second wives ; and that, even then, 
they are seldom the first movers in the matter. It 
a man,” says he, “ should not have children, his 
father or elder brother seeks for him a second wife; 
few take this trouble on themselves.” It is, in fact, 
a saying among the Hindoos, that a man should wait 
till his first wife is more than twenty, that is, almost 
past child-bearing, before he thinks of a second. 
They see the misery almost invariably arising in 
families from a plurality of wives, and even prefer in 
most cases descending childless to the grave, great 
as this misfortune is considered to be, to the risk* of 
passing their lives in perpetual misery 50 . Celibacy, 
however, is so disreputable among the Hindoos, that 
a man who loses his wife rarely remains many days a 

49 Description of the Manners, &c. of the Hindoos, p. 136. 

50 Ward, vol. i. p. 180 j Dubois, p. 136; Forbes, Oriental 
Memoirs, vol. i. p. 76. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


285 


widower. Should this misfortune happen to him a 
second time, he encounters some difficulty in finding 
a wife, because such a marriage is thought baneful 
to the female. To obviate this objection, however, 
he betroths himself to a tree, upon which the threat¬ 
ened evil falls, and the tree immediately dies 51 . Ac¬ 
cording to the Sastra, fifty is the age beyond which a 
man is not permitted to marry ; but this text of their 
scriptures the Brahmins disregard. 

But of all the Hindoo customs connected with 
marriage, those which prevail among the Nairs, or 
pure Sudras of* the Malabar coast, are unquestionably 
the most extraordinary. Here the order of things 
which usually obtains among barbarians is reversed. 
The woman, instead of being a timid, delicate, se¬ 
cluded thing, existing as one among many in the 
harem of her lord, stalks boldly forward into society, 
and setting at defiance the modesty natural to her 
sex, lives publicly, without shame, as the. common 
mistress of a whole family, or rather of the whole 
caste. “ It is,” observes Dr. Buchanan, no kind 
of reflection on a woman’s character to say, that she 
has formed the closest intimacy with many persons; 
on the contrary, the Nair women are proud of 
reckoning among their favoured lovers many Brah¬ 
mins, Rajas, or other persons of high birth : it would 
not appear, however, that this want of restraint has 
been injurious to population. When a lover receives 
admission into a house, he commonly gives his mis¬ 
tress some ornaments, and her mother a piece of 
cloth; but these presents are never of such value as 
to give room for supposing that the women bestow 
their favours from mercenary motives. To this ex¬ 
traordinary custom may perhaps be attributed the 
total want, among its inhabitants, of that penurious 
disposition so common among the Hindoos. All 
61 "Ward, vol. i. p. 181. 


286 


THE HINDOOS. 


the young people vie with each other, who shall 
look best, and who shall secure the greatest share of 
favour from the other sex, and an extraordinary 
thoughtlessness concerning the future means of sub¬ 
sistence is very prevalent.” 

In consequence of this strange state of society, no 
Nair, continues this traveller, knows his own father. 
“ Every man looks upon his sister’s children as his 
heirs. He indeed looks upon them with the same 
fondness that fathers in other parts of the world have 
for their own children ; and he would be considered 
an unnatural monster, were he to show such signs 
of grief at the death of a child, which from long 
cohabitation and love for its mother he might sup¬ 
pose to be his own, as he did at the death of a child 
of his sister. A man’s mother manages his family, 
and after her death his eldest sister assumes the 
direction. Brothers almost always live under the 
same roof; but if one of the family separates from 
the rest, he is always accompanied by his favourite 
sister. Even cousins to the most remote degree of 
kindred, in the female line, generally live together in 
great harmony; for in this part of the country, love, 
jealousy, or disgust, never can disturb the peace of a 
Nair family. A man’s moveable property, after his 
death, is divided equally among the sons and 
daughters of all his sisters. His landed estate is 
managed by the eldest male of the family ; but each 
individual is entitled to a share of the income.. In 
case of the eldest male being uuable from infirmity 
or incapacity to manage the affairs of the family, the 
next in rank does it in the name of his senior 52 .” 

Cicero observes that there is no opinion so absurd 
but that some philosopher or another may be found 
10 defend it. In like manner, there is no custom, 

52 Buchanan, Journey through the Mysore, &c. vol. ii. 
p. 411, 412. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


287 


however monstrous, which an ingenious writer will 
not undertake to assign a competent reason for. 
Accordingly, we find the polyandrism of the Nair 
women, which is merely a relic of those barbarous 
manners prevalent among many ancient nations, 
converted by Montesquieu into a politic regulation, 
preservative of hardihood and valour. “In this 
tribe,” says he, “ the men can have but one wife; 
while a woman, on the contrary, is allowed many 
husbands: the origin of this custom is not difficult 
to discover. The Nairs are a tribe of nobles 53 who 
are the soldiers of the nation: in Europe soldiers 
are not encouraged to marry: in Malabar, where 
the climate requires greater indulgence, they are 
satisfied with rendering marriage as little burden¬ 
some as possible. They give one wife among many 
men ; which consequently diminishes the attachment 
to a family, and the cares of house-keeping, and 
leaves them in the free possession of a military 
spirit.” 

Having thus far examined that chain of circum¬ 
stances, along which the Hindoo proceeds from 

53 We have here an example of the extremely imperfect state 
of our knowledge respecting the Hindoo castes. If the Nairs 
are the nobles and the soldiers of the nation, then war and mili¬ 
tary affairs are not exclusively assigned to the Kshatriyas, for 
the Nairs are Sudras. Buchanan, Journey, &c. vol. ii. p. 408. 
This author observes, however, that though they all 'pretend to 
be born soldiers, in reality they are of various ranks and pro¬ 
fessions. The Sudras, we find, have here as elsewhere escaped 
from the service of the “twice-born,” and acquired the highest 
honours and distinctions. “ On all public occasions these (the 
Kirit Nairs ) act as cooks, which, among Hindoos, is a sure 
mark of transcendent rank ; for every person can eat the food 
prepared by a person of higher birth than himself.” Buchanan, 
ubi supra. —Forbes, who accidentally surprised a Nair girl 
bathing in a tank, says that, aware of her high caste, he did 
not attempt to speak to her. Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. p. 
380 , 


288 


THE HINDOOS. 


infancy to manhood, we shall now observe the con¬ 
dition of his helpmate, which, according to the ordi¬ 
nary opinion, is very far from being an enviable one. 
It will, perhaps, be admitted that it would be a task 
more easy of accomplishment to adopt the notions 
already established, and to adduce quotations, which 
may be found ready made in every compilation, in 
support of them, than in any way to call those notions 
in question; for in this case no little labour and 
original research are required. However; as we 
have long doubted the accuracy of those pictures 
which represent the women of Hindoostan as mere 
slaves, we shall now place before the reader the rea¬ 
son of those doubts, and then leave him to determine 
whether he will prefer the notions at present pre¬ 
vailing to the adopting of a more moderate opinion. 
Too much, however, must not be expected. In 
every point of view the Hindoos are greatly behind 
the English, and several other European nations, in 
civilization and refinement. It is not, therefore, to be 
supposed that on that particular point which regards 
the treatment of the female sex, they should be on 
a par with us. We merely advance that women are 
not reduced in India to that miserably degraded 
condition in which they are commonly believed to be 
immersed. 

Too much stress, we think, is laid by Mr. Mill 54 , in 
considering this question, on the authority of the 
‘ Institutes of Menu.’ If these laws ever were 
rigidly obeyed, which, as we have already shown, there 
is great reason to doubt, they were soon found, as 
man advanced in the career of civilization, to be incom¬ 
patible with the well-being of society, arid allowed, 
without a formal abrogation, to fall by degrees into 
desuetude. “ The learned Hindoos,” says Sir Wil¬ 
liam Jones, “ are unanimously of opinion that many 
54 History of British India, vol i. p. 388, 389. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


289 


laws enacted by Menu, their oldest reputed legis¬ 
lator, were confined to the three first ages of the 
world, and have no force in the present, in which a 
few of them are certainly obsolete 55 .” More, per¬ 
haps, than a few are obsolete ; but the principal o 
those which are acknowledged to be so regard, in 
one way or other, the condition of the fair sex. 

The Abbe Dubois, whose authority has frequently 
been insisted on in the consideration of this question, 
observes:—“What I have to relate concerning the 
Brahrnanaris, or Brahmin women, will equally apply 
to other individuals of the sex in different castes. Yet 
there is but little to be said concerning the Hindoo 
women, from the small consideration in which they 
are held. Always treated as if they were created for 
the mere enjoyment of the men, or for their service, 
they are supposed to be incapable of acquiring any 
degree of the mental capacity which a greater ascend¬ 
ant in society would surely confer upon them, by 
rendering them of more importance in the affairs of 
,Iife. But they are so low in estimation, that when a 
man has done anything reprehensible, it is quite 
proverbial to say that he has acted in the spirit of a 
woman. She, on the other hand, as an excuse for 
any fault, lays all the blame on the natural inferiority 
of her sex 56 .” 

The most extraordinary part of the matter is, that 
the Hindoo women, from some strange perversity of 
taste, or, according to the Abbd, from the effect of 
custom, have absolutely imbibed a sort of passion for 
ill treatment, and would with scorn repel anything 
like an approach to tenderness or affection. “ They 
would,’’ he assures us, “ despise their husbands if 
they treated them with easy familiarity. I have seen 

General Note on the Institutes of Menu, Works, vcl. viii. 
p. 152. Haughton’s edition of Menu, vol. ii. p. 428. 

66 Description, &e 

VOL. I. 2 c 


290 


THE HINDOOS. 


a wife in a rage with her husband for talking with 
her in an easy strain. ‘ His behaviour covers me 
with shame,’ quoth she, ‘ and I dare no longer show 
my face. Such conduct amongst us was never seen 
till now. Is he become a Paranguay (a Frank), and 
does he suppose me to be a woman of that caste 67 ?’ ” 
But if the Hindoos treat their wives harshly or with 
indifference, or exhibit contempt for the sex in general, 
they are careful, it seems, to conceal their conduct; 
for, though women are generally despised, it appears 
to be no less generally the fashion to regard such dis¬ 
paragement as highly disreputable ; since women 
“ receive,” says the Abbe, “ the highest respect in 
public!” 

“Married women,” says Menu, “ must be honoured 
and adorned by their fathers and brethren, by their 
husbands, and by the brethren of their husbands, if 
they seek abundant prosperity. Where females are ho¬ 
noured, there the deities are pleased, but where they are 
dishonoured, there all religious acts become fruitless. 

57 Description, &c. p. 219. Bishop Heber, however, heard 
from the most competent judges, a very different story. 
Describing his conversation with Mr. Warner, magistrate of the 
Farreedpoor district, “he spoke favourably,” says he, “ of the 
general character of the people, who are, he said, gentle, cheer¬ 
ful, and industrious, these great crimes (decoitry, &c.) being, 
though unhappily more common than in Europe, yet certainly 
not universal. He had learned, from different circumstances, 
more of the internal economy of the humbler Hindoo families 
than many Europeans do, and had formed a favourable idea of 
their domestic habits and happiness. As there is among the 
cottagers no seclusion of women, both sexes sit together round 
their evening lamps in very cheerful conversation, and employ 
themselves either in weaving, spinning, cookery, orinplayingat 
a kind of dominos. He says it is untrue that the women, in 
these parts at least, are ignorant of sewing, spinning, or 
embroidery, inasmuch as, while the trade of Dacca flourished, 
the sprigs, &c. which we see on its muslins, were very often 
the work of female hands.” Narrative, &c. vol. i. p. 217, 
218 . 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


291 


Where female relations are made miserable, the family 
of him who makes them so very soon wholly perishes ; 
but where they are not unhappy, the family always 
increases. On whatever houses the women of a family, 
not being duly honoured, pronounce an imprecation, 
those houses with all that belong to them utterly 
perish, as if destroyed by a sacrifice for the death of 
an enemy. Let those women, therefore, be con¬ 
tinually supplied with ornaments, apparel and food, 
at festival and jubilees, by men desirous of wealth. 
In whatever family the husband is contented with his 
wife, and the wife with her husband, in that house 
will fortune be assuredly permanent 58 . 5 ’ 

Whatever may be the present practice of the Hin¬ 
doos, it was customary, we learn, in the time of the 
compiler of the ‘ Institutes,’ for the husband and 
wife, on certain occasions at least, to eat together. 
Having given directions respecting the practice of 
hospitality, which we shall cite hereafter, the legis¬ 
lator observes:—“ To others, as familiar friends, 
and the rest before named, who come with affection 
io his place of abode, let him serve a repast at the 
same time with his wife and himself having amply 
provided it according to his best means 59 .” 

The following texts also, though the expressions be 
rough and imeourtly, seem to be conceived in the 
spirit of real humanity and tenderness for the female 
sex. They conclude with another allusion to the 
practice which then prevailed of husband and wife 
eating together:—“To a bride, to a damsel, to the 
sick and to pregnant women, let him give food, even 
before his guests, without hesitation. The idiot who 
first eats his own mess, without having presented food 
to the persons just enumerated, knows not while he 
crams, that he will himself be food after death for ban 

58 Institutes, &c.chap. in. ver. 55—£0. 

50 Chap, iii ver. 113. 


292 


THE HINDOOS. 


dogs and vultures. After the repast of the Brahmin 
guest, of his kinsmen, and his domestics, the married 
couple may eat what remains untouched 60 .” 

Anxious to repress all disposition to domestic strife, 
the legislator afterwards observes :—“ With his 
mother herself, or with his father, with his kins¬ 
women, and his brother, with his son, his wife, or 
his daughter, and with his whole set of servants, let 
him have no strife. Children, old men, poor depend 
ants and sick persons, must be considered as rulers 
of the pure ether; his elder brother, as equal to his 
father; his wife and son, as his own body. His 
assemblage of servants, as his own shadow; his 
daughter as the highest object of tenderness : let him 
therefore, when offended by any of these, bear the 
offence without indignation 61 .” 

Coming afterwards to speak of women more parti¬ 
cularly, the law-giver observes :—“ The mouth of a 
woman is constantly pure.” He decides, indeed, that 
no woman, whatever may be her age or condition, 
is to act “ according to her mere pleasure 62 .” But 
he is here considering her as the member of a family, 
as a person.surrounded by others who have rights to 
be respected as well as herself; in short, as a citizen 
of the domestic republic, who should, under no cir¬ 
cumstances, look solely to self, but have a regard in 
all she does to the welfare of those with whom she is 
to pass her life, and whose happiness or misery must 
be deeply affected by her actions. With regard to 
the state of dependence to which she is said to be 
condemned, little need be said. Woman is everywhere 
dependent on man, and has been so from the begin¬ 
ning: “ Thy desire,” says the Scripture, “ shall be to 
thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” But from 

80 Institutes of Menu, chap. iii. ver. 114—116. 

61 Chap. iv. ver. 180, 184, 185. 

62 Chap v. ver. 147—169. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


293 


this very circumstance is her power over the heart, 
and consequently her happiness, derived. Remove 
her from this position, convert her into a kind of 
man, and you in the same proportion destroy her 
power as a woman, to substitute in its stead some¬ 
thing not half so desirable; and which is even in¬ 
consistent with the existence of political society. 

To quit the ‘ Institutes of Menu,’ of which, as we 
have shown, an imperfect view is too generally taken, 
and descend to the conduct of the present Hindoos 
towards women ; we are assured by an author of no 
mean authority 63 that, in no point does the Rajpoot 
resemble the ancient German and Scandinavian tribes 
more than in his delicacy towards females. The 
ancient Germans, as we learn from Tacitus, were 
accustomed, in affairs of the utmost moment, to 
consult their wives, to whose opinions great weight 
was usually attached. The martial tribes of India 
do the same. Speaking of what he terms the 
“ Feudal System” of Mewar, Colonel Tod remarks 
that “ adoptions are often made during the life of 
the incumbent when without prospect of issue. The 
chief and his wife first agitate the snbject in private; 
it is then confided to the little council of the fief, and 
when propinquity and merit unite, they at once peti¬ 
tion the prince to confirm their wishes, which are 
generally acceded to. On sudden lapses the wife is 
allowed the privilege, in conjunction with those inte¬ 
rested in the fief, of nomination, though the case is 
seldom left unprovided for ; there is always a presump¬ 
tive heir to the smallest sub-infeudation of these 

03 Colonel Tod, Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 70. Klse- 
where the same writer remarks :—“ If devotion to the fair sex 
be admitted as a criterion of civilization, the Rajpoot must 
rank high. His susceptibility is extreme, and fires at the 
slightest offence to female delicacy, which he never forgives.” 
p. 276. 


2 C 3 


THE HINDOOS. 


estates. The wife of the deceased is the guardian of 
the minority of the adopted. The chief of Deoguih, 
one of the sixteen Omras of Mewar, died without 
issue. On his death-bed he recommended to his 
wife and chiefs, Nahar Sing for their adoption 64 .” 

Properly to understand the character and manners 
of a nation, it is not enough to examine the spirit 
of their laws or the maxims of their moralists. We 
must discover their practices. In these we do not 
usually find among the Hindoos any traces of that 
profound contempt of women, or indelicacy, or want 
of atfection with which they have been charged. Those 
who are at all versed in the history of India, must 
have met with innumerable examples of feelings and 
conduct entirely the reverse of all these. A memora¬ 
ble instance of the truly chivalrous devotion of the 
Rajpoot to the object of his attachment is recorded 
as having occurred during the first siege of Cheetore, 
in the thirteenth century. “ Bheemsi was the uncle 
of the young prince, and protector during his mino¬ 
rity. He had espoused the daughter of Hamir Sank 
(Chohan) of Ceylon, the cause of woes unnumbered 
to the Sesodias. Her name was Pudmani, a title 
bestowed only on the superlatively fair, and trans¬ 
mitted with renown to posterity by tradition and the 
song of the bard. Her beauty, accomplishments, 
exaltation, and destruction, with other incidental 
circumstances, constitute the subject of one of the 
most popular traditions of Rajwarra. The Hindoo 
bard recognizes the fair in preference to fame and 
love of conquest, as the motive for the attack of Ala- 
ud-din, who limited his demand to the possession of 
Pudmani, though this was after a long and fruitless 
siege. At length he restricted his desire to a mere 
sight of this extraordinary beauty, and acceded to 
the proposal of beholding her through the medium 
64 Annals of Rajast’han, p. 190, 191- 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, 


295 


of mirrors. Relying on the faith of the Rajpoot, 
he entered Cheetore slightly guarded, and having 
gratified his wish, returned. The Rajpoot, unwilling 
to be outdone in confidence, accompanied the king 
to the foot of the fortress, amidst many complimen¬ 
tary excuses from his guest at the trouble he had thus 
occasioned. It was for this that Ala-ud-din risked his 
own safety, relying on the superior faith of the Hin¬ 
doo. Here he had an ambush; Bheemsi was made 
prisoner, hurried away to the Tatar camp, and his 
liberty made dependent on the surrender of Pud- 
mani. Despair reigned in Cheetore when this fatal 
event was known, and it was debated whether Pud- 
mani should be resigned as a ransom for their de¬ 
fender. Of this she was informed, and expressed 
her acquiescence. Having provided wherewithal to 
secure her from dishonour, she communed with two 
chiefs of her own kin and clan of Ceylon, her uncle 
Gorah and his nephew Badul, who devised a scheme 
for the liberation of their prince, without hazarding 
her life or fame. Intimation was despatched to Ala- 
ud-din, that on the day he withdrew from his trenches, 
the fair Pudmani would be sent, but in a manner 
befitting her own and his high station, surrounded 
by her females and handmaids; not only those who 
would accompany her to Delhi, but many others who 
desired to pay her this last mark of reverence. Strict 
commands were to be issued to prevent curiosity 
from violating the sanctity of female decorum and 
privacy. No less than seven hundred covered litters 
proceeded to the royal camp ; in each was placed one 
of the bravest defenders of Cheetore, borne by six 
armed soldiers disguised as litter-porters. They 
reached the camp. The royal tents were inclosed 
with kanats (walls of cloth) ; the litters were de¬ 
posited, and half an hour was granted for a parting 
interview between the Hindoo prince and his bride. 


296 


THE HINDOOS. 


They then placed their prince in a litter and returned 
with him, while the greater number (the supposed 
damsels) remained to accompany the fair to Delhi. 
But Ala-ud-din had no intention to permit Bheemsi’s 
return, and was becoming jealous of the long inter¬ 
view he enjoyed, when, instead of the prince and 
Pudmani, the devoted band issued from their litters; 
but Ala-ud-din was too well guarded. Pursuit was 
ordered, while these covered the retreat till they 
perished to a man. A fleet horse was reserved for 
Bheemsi, on which he was placed, and in safety 
ascended the fort, at whose outer gate the host of 
Ala-ud-din was encountered. The choicest of the 
heroes of Cheetore met the assault. With Gorah 
and Badul at their head, animated by the noblest 
sentiments, the deliverance of their chief and the 
honour of their queen, they devoted themselves to de¬ 
struction, and few were the survivors of this slaughter 
of the flower of Mewar. For a time Ala-ud-din 
was defeated in his object, and the havoc they had 
made in his ranks, joined to the dread of their de¬ 
termined resistance, obliged him to desist from the 
enterprise 65 .’ 

Devotion of this kind savours but little of con¬ 
tempt. There is, moreover, a custom prevalent in 
Rajast’han called the “ Festival of the Bracelet,” 
which resembles in spirit some of the nobler usages 
of European chivalry. “ The Festival of the Brace¬ 
let is in spring, and whatever its origin, it is one of 
the few when an intercourse of gallantry of the most 
delicate nature is established between the fair sex 
and the cavaliers of Rajast’han. Though the 
bracelet may be sent by maidens, it is only on oc¬ 
casions of urgent necessity or danger. The Rajpoot 
dame bestows with the rcikhi (bracelet) the title of 
adopted brother; and while its acceptance secures to 
* 5 Annals of Rajasfhan, vol. i. p. 262—264. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


297 


her all the protection of a cavalier servente , scandal 
itself never suggests any other tie to his devotion. 
He may hazard his life in her caus*e, and yet never 
receive a smile in reward, for he cannot even see the 
fair object who, as brother of her adoption, has con¬ 
stituted him her defender. But there is a charm in 
the mystery of such connexion, never endangered by 
close observation, and the loyal to the fair may well 
attach a value to the public recognition of being the 
rakhi-bund bhde , the ‘ bracelet-bound brother,’ of 
a princess. The intrinsic value of such a pledge is 
never looked to, nor is it requisite it should be costly, 
though it varies with the means and rank of the 
donor, and maybe of flock silk and spangles, or gold 
chains and gems. The acceptance of the pledge and 
its return is by the katchli , or corset, of simple silk 
or satin, or gold brocade and pearls. In shape or 
application there is nothing similar in Europe; and, 
as defending the most delicate part of the structure 
of the fair, it is peculiarly appropriate as an emblem 
of devotion. A whole province has often accom¬ 
panied the katchli , and the monarch of India was 
so pleased with this courteous delicacy in the cus¬ 
toms of .Rajast’han, on receiving the bracelet of the 
princess Kurnavati, which invested him with the 
title o f her brother, and uncle and protector to her 
infant Oody Sing, that he pledged himself to her 
service, * even if the demand were the castle of 
Rint’humbor.’ Humaioon proved himself a true 
knight, and even abandoned his conquests in Bengal 
when called on to redeem his pledge, and succour 
Cheetore and the widows and minor sons of Sanga 
Rana 69 .” 

Anecdotes without number might be cited in proof 
of the proud position which woman maintains among 
the warlike tribes of Northern India. Nothing can 
60 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 312, 313. 


298 


The Hindoos. 


be farther from slavery than their condition, nothing 
more inconsistent than their conduct with the cha¬ 
racter of slaves. 4 When Aurungzebe, in the insolence 
of power, and presuming on the fallen estate of the 
Rajpoot sovereign, demanded the hand of a princess 
of Marwar, and supposing a refusal impossible, sent 
a cortege of two thousand horse to conduct the fair 
to his court, “ the haughty Rajpootni, either indig¬ 
nant at such precipitation, or charmed with the gal¬ 
lantry of the Rana, who had evinced his devotion to 
the fair by measuring his sword with the head of her 
house, rejected with disdain the proferred alliance, 
and justified by brilliant precedents in the romantic 
history of her nation, she intrusted her cause to the 
arm of the chief of the Rajpoot race, offering herself 
as the reward of protection. The family priest (her 
preceptor) deemed his office honoured by being 
the messenger of her wishes, and the billet he con¬ 
veyed is incorporated in the memorial of this reign. 

‘ Is the swan to be the mate of the stork ; a 
Rajpootni, pure in blood, to be wife to the monkey¬ 
faced barbarian ! ’ concluding with a threat of self- 
destruction, if not saved from dishonour. This 
appeal, with other powerful motives, was seized on 
with avidity by the Rana as a pretext to throw away 
the scabbard, in order to illustrate the opening of a 
warfare, in which he determined to put all to hazard, 
in defence of his country and his faith 67 .” 

Another anecdote, which, tragical as it is, shows the 
importance attached to the preservation of femal^ ho¬ 
nour by the Rajpoots, is at the same time illustrative of 
the degraded condition into which their princes have 
fallen in these “ degenerate days.” A few ages ago 
the actors in the following transaction would rather 
have shed their heart’s blood in the field, than have 
encountered the infamy of the deed. Kishna 
67 Annals of Rajast'han, vol. i. p. 378. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


299 


Komari Bae, ‘ the virgin princess Kishna,’ was in her 
sixteenth year; her mother was of the Chawura race, 
the ancient kings of Arihulwara. Sprung from the 
noblest blood of Hind, she added beauty of face 
and person to an engaging demeanour, and was 
justly proclaimed the flower of Rajast’han. The 
rapacious and bloodthirsty Pat’han, Nawab Ameer 
Khan, covered with infamy, repaired to Oodipoor, 
where he was joined by the pliant and subtle Ajit. 
He was meek in his demeanour, unostentatious in 
his habits ; despising honours, yet covetous of power: 
religion, which he followed with the zea*l of an 
ascetic, if it did not serve as a cloak, was at least 
no hindrance to an unmeasurable ambition, in the 
attainment of which he would have sacrificed all but 
himself. When the Pat’han revealed his design, that 
either the princess should wed Raja Maun, or by her 
death seal the peace of Rajwarra, whatever argu¬ 
ments were used to point the alternative, the Rana 
was made to see no choice between consigning his 
beloved child to the Rahtore prince, or witnessing 
the effects of a more extended dishonour from the 
vengeance of the Pat’han, and the storm of his palace 
by his licentious adherents:—the fiat passed that 
Kishna Komari should die. 

“ But the deed was left for woman to accomplish 
—the hand of man refused it. The harem of an 
eastern prince is a world within itself; it is the 
labyrinth containing the strings that move the pup¬ 
pets which alarm mankind. Here intrigue sits 
enthroned, and hepce its influence radiates to the 
world, always at a loss to trace effects to their causes. 
Maharaja Dowlut Sing, descended four generations 
ago from one common ancestor with the Rana, was 
first sounded to save the honour of Oodipoor; but 
horror-struck, he exclaimed, 4 Accursed the tongue 
that commands it! Dust on my allegiance, if thus 


300 


THE HINDOOS. 


to be preserved !’ The Maharaja Jowandas, a natu¬ 
ral brother, was then called upon ; the dire necessity 
was explained, and it was urged that no common 
hand could be armed for the purpose. He accepted 
the poniard, but when in youthful loveliness Kishna 
appeared before him, the dagger fell from his hand, 
and he returned more wretched than the victim. 
The fatal purpose thus revealed, the shrieks of the 
frantic mother reverberated through the palace, as 
she implored mercy or execrated the murderers of her 
child, who alone was resigned to her fate. But 
death was arrested, not averted. To use the phrase 
of the narrator, 4 she was excused the steel, the cup 
was prepared,’ and prepared by female hands ! As 
the messenger presented it in the name of her father, 
she bowed and drank it, sending up a prayer for his 
life and prosperity. The raving mother poured im¬ 
precations on his head, while the lovely victim, who 
shed not a tear, thus endeavoured to console her: — 
‘ Why afflict yourself, my mother, at this shortening 
of the sorrows of life; I fear not to die ! Am I not 
your daughter? Why should I fear death? We 
are marked out for sacrifice from our birth ; we 
scarcely enter the world but to be sent out again; let 
me thank my father that I have lived so long.’ 
Thus she conversed till the nauseating draught re¬ 
fused to assimilate with her blood. Again the bitter 
potion was prepared. She drained it off, and again 
it was rejected; but, as if to try the extreme of 
human fortitude, a third was administered, and for a 
third time nature refused to aid the horrid purpose. 
It seemed as if the fabled charm, which guarded the 
life of the founder of her race, was inherited by the 
virgin Kishna. But the bloodhounds, the Pat’han and 
Ajit, were impatient till their victim was at rest ; 
and cruelty, as if gathering strength from defeat, 
made another and a fatal attempt. A powerful opiate 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


301 


was presented—the kasoomba draught. She re¬ 
ceived it with a smile, wished the scene over, and 
drank it. The desires of barbarity were accomplished. 
4 She slept!’ a sleep from which she never awoke 68 .” 

It is admitted that the higher classes of females in 
Hindoostan lead in general a far more secluded life 
than women of a corresponding rank in Europe. 
And this, though the Hindoo ladies themselves do 
not appear to regard it in that light, may justly be 
considered as an injury to society. But this retire¬ 
ment by no means impairs their influence over those 
whom alone a virtuous woman can desire to influ¬ 
ence. Like the magnetic power, their attraction, 
however latent, “ is not,” says Colonel Tod, “ the less 
certain. To win their unseen smiles the Hindoo 
warrior toils and bleeds ; for there is no recess of the 
harem into which the renown of a manly character 
and gallant actions will not penetrate. The bards, 
who resemble the troubadours of the middle ages 
and the Aoidoi of ancient Greece, are everywhere 
admitted, to the palace as well as to the cottage; and 
the youth of their country, decorated in their glowing 
songs with all the ornaments of poetry, are pre¬ 
sented to the ardent imaginations of the fair in a light 
highly calculated to inspire admiration and love.’’ 

Instead of treating woman contemptuously, the 
Rajpoot consults her on every occasion, draws from 
her ordinary actions the omen of success, and ap¬ 
pends to her name the epithet of Devi, or “ goddess.’’ 
“ The superficial observer,” remarks Colonel Tod, 
“ who applies M 3 own standard to the customs of all 
nations, laments with an affected philanthropy the 
degraded condition of the Hindoo female, in which 
sentiment he would find her little disposed to join. 
He particularly laments her want of liberty, and calls 
her seclusion imprisonment.’’ “ But,” adds he, “ from 
68 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 463— 466. 

2 D 


VOL. I. 


302 


THE HINDOOS. 


the knowledge I possess of the freedom, the respect , 
the happiness, which Rajpoot women enjoy, I am by 
no means inclined to deplore their state as one of 
captivity 69 .” However, neither does he advocate this 
part of Rajpoot discipline, which he regards as en¬ 
tirely unnecessary, and, as far as it operates, injurious, 
like all other restraints, to public and private virtue. 

The Rajpoot ladies, though respected and happy, 
are not exempted, when married, from all care of 
their household affairs; nor are they supposed to be 
degraded by putting their fair hands to works of 
utility. Like the princesses of the heroic and patri¬ 
archal ages, they are really useful members of the 
families to which they belong; and if they do not 
weave, like Penelope, or, like Nausicaa, follow their 
handmaids to the field with the linen, they still find 
occasions of employing themselves. Occasionally, 
however, when united with persons somewhat their 
inferiors in rank, they have evinced a disposition to 
render their high birth an excuse for refusing to 
comply with the customs of the country. This was 
experienced by the chief of Sadri, a celebrated soldier 
of Rajast’han, who had obtained the hand of a 
princess of Mewar. “ To the courteous request, 

‘ Ranawut-jl, fill me a cup of water,’ he received 
a contemptuous refusal, with a remark that ‘the 
daughter of a hundred kings would not become 
cup-bearer to the chieftain of Sadri.’ ‘ Very well,’ 
replied the plain soldier, ‘ you may return to your 
father’s house, if you can be of no use in mine.’ 
A messenger was instantly sent to the court, and 
the message, with every aggravation, was made 
known ; and she followed on the heels of her mes¬ 
senger. A summons soon arrived for the Sadri 
chief' to attend his sovereign at the capital. He 
obeyed ; and arrived in time to give his explanation 
69 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 609, 610. 


manners and customs. 


303 


just as the Rana was proceeding to hold a full court. 
4s usual, the Sadri chief was placed on his sovereign’s 
right hand, and when the court broke up, the heir 
apparent of Mewar, at a preconcerted sign, stood 
at the edge of the carpet, performing the menial 
office of holding the slippers of the chief. Shocked 
at such a mark of extreme respect, he stammered 
forth some words of homage, his unworthiness, &c.; 
to which the Rana replied, ‘ As my son-in-law, no 
distinction too great can be conferred: take home 
your wife, she will never again refuse you a cup of 
water’ 7 °.” 

In all countries, to be tolerated, dramatic pieces must 
present to the audience pictures of life and manners, 
resembling the originals of which they profess to be 
copies. The plays of the Hindoos may therefore be 
taken as correct delineations of their manners and 
customs ; and these* as far as they are known, entirely 
support the view which I have taken of Indian society. 
According to the learned and elegant translator of 
the Hindoo Theatre 71 , the characters, both of heroes 
and heroines, are painted with the most minute 
exactness and attention to probability. Here, there¬ 
fore, we may discover how far the ladies of Hin- 
doostan mingled in general society previous to the 
Musulman invasion. Independently of the mythoe 
logical personages, which make a prominent figur- 
in several of the pieces, we find introduced the wives 
of holy men, princesses, courtezans, and the various 
inhabitants of the harem. In those light pieces 
which represent the manners of common life, no 
virgin of high birth appears upon the stage; which 
is the case also in the plays of Plautus and Terence. 

70 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 612. 

71 H. H. Wilson, in his Dissertation on the Dramatic System 
of the Hindoos, prefixed to his translation of the Sanscrit 
Theatre. 


304 


THE HINDOOS. 


But in more serious and lofty compositions, as the 
* Malati and Madhava,’ and the ‘ Ratnavali,’ young' 
ladies of birth and character adorn the scene. It 
would appear, from these and various other examples, 
that the princes of India borrowed from the Moham¬ 
medans the practice of secluding their women in the 
harems. Previously, though subject to many re¬ 
straints, they were perfectly at liberty to appear in 
public ; enjoyed, in company with the men, the 
amusements of the theatre ; formed the principal 
part in all marriage processions; visited the temples 
of the gods; and bathed, with little secrecy or pre¬ 
caution, in the sacred rivers. The last two privileges 
they still enjoy. Neither were they, even in more 
modern times, rigidly excluded from the presence of 
all other men than their husbands or sons. But in 
those ancient times, which may be called the heroic 
ages of Hindoostan, even queens and princesses 
seem to have enjoyed the liberty of travelling whi¬ 
thersoever they pleased Even unmarried women 
were not excluded from the company of men. They 
might even listen to their conversation, but it would 
have been thought indecorous to have replied, or, 
if they did, it was necessary to do so in a low 
voice. Married women were under no such restraint. 
They might appear in public, as we find in Sacon- 
tala; and are sometimes introduced conversing jocu¬ 
larly with their husbands’ friends, and exercising, 
in an unmerciful manner, their talents for caustic 
raillery 72 . 

In a country where women were commonly regarded 
with contempt, a poet would not endeavour to excite 
public sympathy, touch the feelings, and command 
the applause of an audience by representing them as 
tender, affectionate, faithful, exposing themselves to 
imminent danger for the object of their love, or fol- 
72 Wilson, Dissertation, &c. sec. 5. 


manners and customs. 


305 


lowing him with heroic devotion even in his capri¬ 
cious retirement from the world. In a passage from 
an ancient Sanscrit poem we find a lady thus seek¬ 
ing and lamenting her husband : “ Then the prin¬ 
cess wandered in the forest, an abode of serpents 
crowded with trees which resound with the sweet 
buzz of bees, the resort of flocks of birds. With her 
dark hair dishevelled through her haste, Bhaimi thus 
lamented: King, thou slayest foes, but defendest thy 
kindred with thy quiver and thy sword. Unrivalled 
in excellence, and conversant with morality, how hast 
thou practised the desertion of a wife, proud, but left 
helpless in a forest; thus rendering thyself the limit 
of praise? But I consider this evil to be the act 
of another, and do not charge thee with it: I do 
not blame thee, my husband, as in fault for this 
terror 73 .” 

From a remarkably beautiful passage in a piece of 
Bharavi, we discover that in his time women were 
by no means excluded from society, that they were 
personally addressed by their lovers, and were sup¬ 
posed to be possessed of sufficient firmness to with¬ 
stand all the arts of seduction. “ This mountain,” 
says the poet, “ with its lakes overspread by the 
bloom of the lotos, and overshadowed by arbours 
of creeping plants whose foliage and blossoms are 
enchanting, the pleasing scenery subdues the hearts 
of women who maintained their steadiness of mind 
even in the company of a lover 74 .” 

In speaking of the seclusion of Hindoo women, 
we must be understood to mean the higher classes 
only ; and even of these, only such as dwell in those 
parts of the country where the example of the Mo¬ 
hammedans, or the fear of their lawless passions, 
prevailed; for in general the women of India enjoy 
complete liberty. Among the middle and lower ranks, 
73 Asiatic Researches, vol. x. p. 404. 74 Ibid. p. 410. 

2 d 3 


306 


THE HINDOOS. 


indeed, whose wives and daughters are required to 
aid in the management of domestic concerns, in busi¬ 
ness, and even in the labours of agriculture, seclusion 
would be impracticable. But, were it otherwise, the 
practice seems to be wholly inconsistent with the 
simplicity of their manners. Throughout the Dek- 
kan, where the manners of the Hindoos have been 
least modified by foreign influence, the women are 
upon much the same footing, with respect to liberty 
as they are in Europe. Among the castes who sell 
milk, they aid in attending on the female buffaloes, 
prepare the milk, and carry it to market. To pre¬ 
vent, however, the necessity of their mingling too 
freely with the soldiery, the men themselves carry 
the milk to the camps, while their wives milk the 
buffaloes, and conduct them to pasture. In other 
parts of the country, women labour in the fields, 
as they do in France and England, in transplanting 
rice, &c., and are the only domestic servants em¬ 
ployed by farmers. Among this class of persons, 
the women of the family themselves cook, fetch 
water from the wells, and perform the other house¬ 
hold labours. Near Seringapatam, the women of a 
low caste, called Uparu ?5 , employ themselves in the 
fields among the men, in collecting the limestone 
nodules for burning. Their wages are one-third 
of that of the men. Wood being in this part of the 
country extremely scarce, the fuel most commonly 
used is cow-dung, which is formed into small cakes 
by women, frequently of high caste, who attend upon 
the herds when at pasture, and gather up the dung 
with their hands. These cakes are brought into 
Seringapatam every morning, in baskets, by women, 
in many instances well dressed, and possessing the 
most graceful and elegant forms. In fact, the Car- 
nata women, though dntyi n their habits, are gene- 
75 See Buchanan’s Myscue, vol. i. p. 303, 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


307 


rally well proportioned, possessing, above all things, 
finely shaped arms and bosoms. Their dress also^is 
elegant and becoming. Among the ornaments of 
these women, glass rings for the arms are conspicuous. 
These rings are generally so small, that, in getting 
them over the hand, the skin is frequently rubbed 
off, and blood drawn ; but since their smallness is 
regarded as a mark of delicacy and beauty, women 
heroically despise the pain inflicted by putting them 
on. 

Among the Pancham Banijigaru 116 , who are wor¬ 
shippers of Siva, and, like all other tribes of that 
sect, bury their dead, men do not purchase their 
wives, though they may marry as many as they 
please. The women, however, though not kept in 
seclusion, are not permitted to marry a second time ; 
or, if their parents neglect to provide them with 
husbands before the age of puberty, to marry at all. 
Female chastity is held in high esteem among this 
tribe; and, notwithstanding the licentiousness of the 
men, their women are rarely guilty of adultery. 
The females of the Teliga, or Tdinga Banijigaru 77 , 
were formerly accustomed to burn themselves with 
the bodies of their deceased husbands, but the prac¬ 
tice has now fallen into disuse. They are an indus¬ 
trious race of women, and are so valuable to their 
husbands, whom they for the most part support, that 
they are very rarely divorced, except for adultery. 
And even when guilty of this crime, unless it has 
been with a man of very low caste, their husbands 
are generally propitiated by the intercession of the 
swamalu , or priest, who, causing them to eat together 
some consecrated food, and sprinkling them with a 
little holy water, puts an end to their differences. 

76 Buchanan’s Mysore, vol. i. p. 236. 

77 Ibid. vol. i. p. 240, &c. 


308 


THE HINDOOS. 


The Canara Devaiigas 78 , who allow themselves a 
plurality of wives, purchase the girls from their 
fathers, but do not keep them in seclusion, or practise 
divorce, except for adultery. Among the Teliga 
Devangas 79 widows formerly buried themselves alive 
with their husbands; but the custom has long gone 
out of fashion. The girls of this tribe are marriage¬ 
able after the age of puberty. It is remarkable that 
among the Comaras , a mixed, or impure caste, 
inhabiting a district in the neighbourhood of Banga¬ 
lore, the Rajpoot prejudice, which regards as inces¬ 
tuous the marriage of two individuals of the same 
family, should be found to prevail 80 . An analogous 
notion is entertained by the Brahmins. Polygamy, 
and the purchase of wives, are practised by this 
tribe. When a match has been agreed upon, the 
husband obtains his wife upon credit, and the pur¬ 
chase money is usually paid by instalments, from the 
earnings of the girl herself. The marriage is cele¬ 
brated by a feast, given by the husband to the whole 
caste, and consisting of four sheep, and a certain 
quantity of country rum. When a woman of this 
tribe is guilty of adultery, she generally escapes 
with a good beating, but may be divorced ; in which 
case, however, she can marry again. 

The Comatigas, a tribe said to be of the Vaisya 
caste, do not keep their women in seclusion in the 
south of India; but in the north, where the fair sex 
are more generally confined, they also follow the 
example of their neighbours. Widows sometimes 
consume themselves oil the funeral pile of their hus¬ 
bands. Girls are not marriageable after the age of 
puberty, and cannot enter into second marriage. 

78 Buchanan’s Mysore, vol. i. p. 244,420. 

79 Ibid. vol. i. p. 353. 

80 A similar law prevails in China. Abel Remusat, Coup- 
d’oeil suv la Chine. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


309 


Among the Brahmins of Southern India the wo¬ 
men appear in public, as in Europe. They cannot, 
however, contract seeond marriages, though they no 
longer burn themselves as formerly with the dead 
bodies of their husbands. Unless married before the 
age of puberty, they are regarded as impure. When 
a woman is divorced, which she can be for no other 
cause than adultery, her husband performs the same 
ceremonies for her as if she were dead. To prevent 
dissension in families, the wife is compelled to pro 
fess the religion of her husband 81 . Among several 
tribes women are much more numerous than men, 
for though many individuals have as many as eight 
wives, no man is without a wife. The women of the 
Morasu tribe, when they reach the age of fifteen or 
twenty, and have borne several children, go to the 
temple of Kala Bhairava, and, as we have already re¬ 
lated in the chapter on religion, cut off'one or two of 
the fingers of their right hand, to appease the wrath 
of this destructive deity, who might otherwise, they 
imagine, deprive them of their children. The females 
of the Satdnana tribe, who, in old times, followed 
their husbands to the funeral pile, but have long 
neglected this practice, perform no act of productive 
industry, though they cook the family provisions, and 
draw water from the wells. Among the Wully- 
Tigulas, a-nd, generally, wherever the women are 
industrious and useful, adultery is regarded as a 
venial offence, which is sufficiently punished by a 
beating 82 . Widows of the Bheri Lingait tribe can, 
on no account, marry again, the action being consi- 

8) Dr. Buchanan, 1 Journey through the Mysore,’ &c. 
vol. i. p. 309, 353, considers this to be a proof of the degra¬ 
dation of women in India ; as if, says he, they were not 
worthy to form an opinion of their own. The law seems de¬ 
signed to cut off one fertile source of domestic misery. 

82 Buchanan’s Mysore, vol i. p. 323, &c. 339, &c. 


310 


THE HINDOOS. 


dered unspeakably infamous. The Curubaru women, 
who are exceedingly industrious, performing every 
species of rustic labour, except digging and plough¬ 
ing, continue marriageable after the age of puberty, 
and can be divorced only for adultery. Concubinage 
is scarcely regarded as dishonourable 83 . 

In the fortified villages of the Mysore country, 
the women, commonly regarded as weak and pusil¬ 
lanimous creatures, crowd upon the rude ramparts 
by the side of their husbands, and roll down or cast 
upon the enemy the stones which serve them for 
artillery. The practice of widows burning them¬ 
selves with their deceased husbands, though held in 
high honour in exceedingly rare in Central and 
Southern India, as may be inferred from the fact that 
when a lady of a Poligar family performed this 
heroic but absurd action, it was thought to be a deed 
worthy of immortality, and the fortress over which 
her descendants reigned was called Modigheshy , 
after her name. Still further to honour her memory, 
the sovereignty was transferred from the male to the 
female line, and was possessed in succession by a 
series of princesses until the downfal or extinction 
of the family. 

Among the Cubbaru 84 , a tribe inhabiting the coun¬ 
try above the Ghauts, and following the business of 
lime-burning, when a woman commits adultery, both 
the husband and the adulterer are fined; the latter 
as a seducer, the former for having been negligent. 
After this, a portion of the tribe assembles, and the 
woman is publicly asked whether she chooses to re¬ 
turn to her husband. When the parties cannot agree, 
the marriage is dissolved; but if they agree, as they 
generally do, to live together again, the husband 
gives the assembly a dinner, and the affair is for- 

83 Buchanan's Mysore, vol. i. p. 259, &c., vol. ii. p. 25, &c. 

84 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 24. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


311 


gotten or overlooked. It is supposed that the in¬ 
dustry of these women purchases for them the privi¬ 
lege of being wanton. The Curubaru buy their 
wives; and a girl of good family will cost at least 
one pound sterling. Among the Panchama Cum- 
bharu adultresses are excommunicated. The same 
custom prevails among the Nona JVoc,ul. The 
Malaya Curubaru women are not considered mar¬ 
riageable until after the age of puberty, a custom 
which is execrated as a mark of the grossest depra¬ 
vity by the higher orders. 

The Coiculars marry a plurality of wives, and 
their women continue marriageable after the age of 
puberty. Among the Siritali , a subdivision of this 
tribe, widows are permitted to marry again. Adultery 
with a stranger is punished by excommunication, but 
if the seducer belongs to the same caste, it is re¬ 
garded merely as a family affair, the husband and the 
offender are fined about a shilling each, and no more 
is said. The Brahmini women of this part of India 
are exceedingly beautiful, but ill educated and in¬ 
sipid in character; which renders their society less 
courted than that of the Cuncheny, or dancing-girls. 
Among the Patti , a very numerous caste, employed 
in husbandry, or in irrigating the fields and gardens, 
girls continue to be marriageable after the age of 
puberty ; but decrease in value as they grow older. 
At first a wife is rather costly, the price of a young 
girl, under the age of puberty, being from nine to 
eleven pagodas; which may be supposed in many 
cases to counteract the permission to marry several 
wives, granted by the law. Widows marry again 
without disgrace. In cases of adultery the husband 
may flog his wife, or divorce her, though the former 
is generally preferred. However, should he turn 
away the wife, the seducer receives her, pays a small 
fine, and no disgrace ensues to any of the parties. 


312 


THE HINDOOS. 


In the country above the G hauts, the women curiously 
flock round a stranger, without at all endeavouring 
to conceal themselves, by peeping from behind walls 
or hedges, as they do in the northern parts of Coim¬ 
batore, and in Bengal. Among the Cadcir, a rude 
tribe inhabiting the frontiers of Malayala, who sub¬ 
sist by collecting drugs, the women gather such wild 
roots as are edible. They possess no means of 
killing game, and neither cultivate the earth, nor rear 
any domestic animals; but eat whatever they find 
dead. Polygamy is allowed, and widows can marry 
again. In northern Malabar the Brahmini girls are 
remarkable for their beauty, cleanliness, and the 
elegance of their dress The customs of the Vaytu- 
vans, an impure tribe of Malayala extraction, allow a 
man who detects his wife in adultery, to put her to 
death; but the offence is no longer deemed of a 
serious nature, and the punishment is commuted 
into a beating. Among the Poliar , a servile tribe of 
Malayala, a wife may be purchased for three shillings. 
The marriage ceremony consists in putting a ring on 
the bride’s finger. When the husband desires to 
part with his wife, he may sell her to any person 
who will refund the marriage expenses ; and she, on 
her part, may quit him whenever she pleases. Exactly 
the same customs prevail among the Catalun. 

In the northern parts of Malabar, the Nairs , who 
are at enmity with the Europeans, have persuaded 
their women that white men are a species of hob¬ 
goblins. For this reason, whenever an European 
appears in a village, the women squat down behind 
their mud-walls to peep at him, and if they imagine 
themselves discovered, run away in great terror. 
Not that they are by any means confined by the 
rules of caste, for they are perfectly at liberty, but 
that they apprehend some personal injury. Among 
the Cunian , or astrologers of Malabar, wives are 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


313 


cheap, the price being little more than six shillings. 
When separations take place, which perhaps they 
seldom do, the boys follow the father, the girls the 
mother, and each party immediately contracts a new 
connexion. The Biluaras, a caste who subsist *by 
extracting the juice of the palm-tree, marry a plurality 
of wives, who all live in their houses. On the death 
of the husband, the widows retire with their children 
to the houses of their brothers, and the eldest son of 
the eldest sister to the deceased becomes master of 
his house and property. If a man fall into poverty, 
his children retire to the houses of their uncles, even 
before their father’s death. Girls continue to be 
marriageable after the age of puberty, and widows, 
or divorced women, may marry again. 

Among the extraordinary customs which prevail 
in the Tulava district of Canara, that which is prac¬ 
tised in the temples is perhaps the most remarkable. 
It has given rise to a particular caste called Moylar . 
“ Any woman of the four pure castes. Brahmin, 
Kshatriya, Vaisya, or Sudra, who is tired of her 
husband, or who being a widow is tired of a life of 
celibacy, goes to the temple and eats some of the 
rice offered to the idol. She is then taken before the 
officers of government, who assemble some people of 
her caste to inquire into the causes of her resolution ; 
and if she be of the Brahmin caste, to give her an 
option of living either in the temple or out of its 
precincts. If she choose the former, she gets a daily 
allowance of rice, and annually a piece of cloth. She 
must sweep the temple, fan the idol with a Tibet 
cow’s-tail, and confine her amours to the Brahmins. 
In fact, she generally becomes a concubine to some 
officer of the revenue, who gives her a trifle in addi¬ 
tion to her public allowance, and who will flog her 
severely if she grant favours to any other person. 
The male children of these women are called Moylar, 

VOL. i. 2 E 


314 


THE HINDOOS. 


but are fond of assuming the title of Stanika, and 
wear the Brahminical thread. As many of them as 
can procure employment live about the temples, 
sweep the areas, sprinkle them with an infusion of 
cow-dung, carry flambeaux before the gods, and per¬ 
form other similar low offices. The others are re¬ 
duced to betake ‘themselves to agriculture or some 
honest employment. The daughters are partly 
brought up to live like their mothers, and the re¬ 
mainder are given in marriage to the Stanikas. 

“ Such of the Brahmini women as do not choose to 
live in the temples, as well as those of the inferior 
castes, may live with any man of pure descent, pay¬ 
ing annually a small trifle to the temple. Their 
children are likewise called Moylar. Those of a 
Brahmini woman can intermarry with those born in 
the temples, but they affect to avoid those of an in¬ 
ferior caste. It is remarkable in this caste, where, 
from the corrupt examples of their mothers, the chas¬ 
tity of the women might be considered as doubtful, 
that a man’s children are his heirs; while in most 
other castes the custom of Tulava requires a man’s 
sister’s children, by way of securing the succession in 
the family. The Moylar differ much in their cus¬ 
toms, each endeavouring to follow those of the caste 
from which his mother derived her origin. Thus 
the descendants of a Brahmini prostitute wear the 
thread, eat no animal food, drink no spirituous 
liquors, and make marks on their faces and bodies 
similar to those which are used by the sacred caste. 
They are not however permitted to read the Vedas, 
or the eighteen Puranas. Indeed, but very few of 
them learn to keep accounts, or to read songs written 
in the vulgar language. Contrary to the customs 
of the Brahmins a widow is permitted to marry 85 .” 

From various circumstances it may be inferred 
85 Buchanan’s Mysore, vol iii. p. 65, 66. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 


315 


that in Western India marriage is a state of happi 
ness. “ One delicate attention which most of the 
Hindoo women voluntarily pay their husbands, is, 
that when he is absent from home for any length of 
time, they seldom wear their jewels, or decorate them¬ 
selves with ornaments; since the object they most 
wished to please is no longer in their presence 86 .” 
Those among the Hindoos who live beyond the cor¬ 
rupting influence of great citiesj are said still to pre¬ 
serve much of that simplicity of manners attributed 
by the poets to the Golden Age; “ and seem, more 
than any other people now existing, to realize the 
innocent and peaceful mode of life, which they as¬ 
cribe to that happy era. When I saw the Brahmin 
women of distinction drawing water at the village 
wells, and tending their cattle to the lakes and rivers, 
they recalled the transactions of the patriarchal days. 
Very often have I witnessed a scene similar to that 
between Abraham’s servant and Rebecca, at the 
entrance of a Hindoo village in Guzerat 87 .” “ The 
Hindoo damsels of the present day live in as much 
simplicity as those formerly in Mesopotamia; they 
still descend to the wells, and continue to pour the 
water into an adjacent trough for the convenience of 
the cattle.” “ The Asiatics love to retire, with their 
women and children, to some cool spot near a river 
or tank, shaded by the friendly banian tree, or 
spreading mango ; there they enjoy that sort of in¬ 
dolent repose which they are so fond of; and par¬ 
take of an innocent repast of herbs and fruits, on the 
verdant carpet 88 .” 

The manner in which a Hindoo woman spends 
her time, in industrious families, is nearly as follows. 
Rising early in the morning she lights the lamp, and 
spins a certain quantity of cotton for the garments 

86 Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. p. 76. 

87 Ibid, vol, i. p. 79. 88 Ibid. vol. i. p. 80. 


316 


THE HINDOOS. 


of the family; she next feeds and attends to the 
children ; and, when this is done, she mingles a 
little cow-dung with water, with which she sprinkles 
and purifies the floor. She then sweeps the house 
and the yard. This being done she breakfasts, after 
which she cleans the brass and stone vessels with 
straw, ashes, and water. Her next employment is 
to cleanse, bruise, and boil rice. After which, about 
ten or eleven o’clock, she takes a napkin, and accom¬ 
panies the neighbouring women to the tank or river 
to bathe. Here many women make a clay image of 
the Lingam, which they worship with the customary 
rites, the performance of which occupies nearly an 
hour. Others content themselves with repeating a 
few prayers, bowing to the water, the sun, &c., which 
may all be completed in fifteen minutes. While 
bathing, they usually rub their gold or silver orna¬ 
ments with sand, anoint their bodies with oil, and 
cleanse their hair with the mud of the sacred stream. 
On her way home, or on her return, the female stands 
in the sun to dry her hair, changes her garments, 
washes her feet, and then attends to her cooking. 
Before she commences, however, she never fails to 
eat a mouthful, a custom, the neglect of which, it is 
feared, might bring down misfortunes on the family. 
She first prepares the roots, greens, and fruits; then 
bruises the spices, &c. by placing them on a flat 
stone, and rolling them with another ; after which 
she cooks the fish or vegetables, concluding with 
boiling the rice. The Hindoo fire-places, which stand 
in the yard or kitchen, are formed of clay ; and they 
have likewise moveable fire-places made of the same 
material, which are not unlike those moveable fur¬ 
naces which may be seen exposed for sale in many 
parts of Paris and other French cities 89 . 

88 Ward, View of the History, Literature, &c. of the 
Hindoos, vol. i. p. 197, 198. 


manners and customs. 


317 


From the above sketch of the maimers and con¬ 
dition of the Hindoo women, in which we have de¬ 
scribed the principal advantages and disadvantages 
of their situation, it will not, we think, be inferred 
that they are treated with any peculiar harshness, it 
appears, among other things, that, though confined 
more or less rigidly in Bengal, and many parts of 
Northern India, at least among the higher classes, 
they elsewhere enjoy much the same degree of liberty 
as in Europe. Neither does their time anywhere 
hang heavily on their hands. A part of the day is 
spent in visiting the temples, joining in religious 
ceremonies and processions, in bathing with their 
female friends at the rivers, and in performing their 
part at weddings and other festivities. In many in¬ 
stances they are taught to read and write, and, in 
Rajast’han, devote a portion of their time to the 
perusal of amusing books with the family priest, or 
in listening to the songs of the bards. Besides, they 
frequently accompany their husbands on journeys, 
and enjoy the pleasure of contemplating the varied 
face of nature in those magnificent countries; and 
some even engage in pilgrimages to the various holy 
places of India. 

We now proceed to describe some other remarkable 
features of Hindoo society. In their forms of ad¬ 
dress and behaviour in company, the Hindoos have 
been ranked, by one no way inclined to flatter them, 
among the politest of nations. But it must be 
acknowledged that their politeness very frequently 
degenerates into gross adulation and panegyric, which 
is sometimes the case among other nations more 
renowned for the refinement of their manners. When 
the Hindoo enters the presence of his spiritual guide, 
he immediately prostrates himself, and touching the 
feet of the holy man, exclaims, “You are my sa¬ 
viour.’’ To a benefactor he says. “ You are my 

> e 3 


318 


THE HINDOOS* 


father and motherto a man whom he wishes to 
praise, “ You are religion incarnate or “ O sir, your 
fame is gone all over the country ; yea, from country 
to country.” “ As a benefactor you are equal to 
Kama.” “ You are equal to Yudhisht’hira in your 
regard for truth.” “ You have overcome all your 
passions.” “You are a sea of excellent qualities.” 
“ You are the father and mother of Brahmins, cows, 
and women 90 .” 

Bernier, who was an acute observer of mankind, 
and had made the manners of the Hindoos his 
peculiar study, particularly notices their remarkable 
proneness to flattery, and tells an amusing anecdote 
in illustration of it. Being during his long residence 
at Delhi in high and constant favour with Danekmend 
Khan, one of the most influential noblemen in the 
Mogul court, he enjoyed numerous opportunities 
of obliging the natives. “ These kind offices were 
uniformly repaid with abundant flattery, if not with 
gratitude; and the skilful practitioners invariably 
discharged a portion of the debt before-hand. Put¬ 
ting on a grave face—a possession of infinite value 
in the East—every person who had need of his 
services assured him at the outset, that he was the 
Aristotalis, the Bocrate, and the Ebn Sina Ulzaman 
(that is, the Aristotle, Hippocrates, and Avicenna 
of the age). It was in vain that he disavowed all 
claim to such immoderate honours; they persisted 
in their assertions; argued down his modesty ; and, 
eternally renewing the charge, in the end com¬ 
pelled him to acquiesce, and consent to allow all 
the glorious attributes of those illustrious men to 
be centred in his single person. A Brahmin whom 
he recommended to the Khan outdid them all . for 
upon his first introduction, after having compared 
the Emir to the greatest kings and conquerors that 

90 Ward, View of the History, &c. of the Hindoos, vol. i. 

p. 188 . 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


319 


ever reigned, he concluded by gravely observing— 
‘ My lord, whenever you put your foot in the stirrup, 
and ride abroad accompanied by your cavalry, the 
earth trembles beneath your feet, the eight elephants 
which support it not being able to endure so great an 
exertion !’ Upon this, Bernier, who could no longer 
restrain his inclination to laugh, remarked to the 
Khan, that, since this was the case, it was advisable 
he should ride as seldom as possible on horseback, 
in order to prevent those earthquakes, which might, 
perhaps, occasion much mischief. ‘ You are per¬ 
fectly right/ replied Danekmend, with a smile, ‘ and 
it is for that very reason that I generally go abroad 
in a palankeen’ 91 .” 

There are among the Hindoos five kinds of obei¬ 
sance, of which the first is that called ashtanga, in 
which the person who prostrates himself, causes 
eight parts of his body—his knees, hands, temples, 
nose, and chin—to touch the ground : second, pan- 
changa, which requires the touching of the ground 
with the forehead, temples, and hands : third, danda 
rata , in which the person merely bows his forehead 
to the ground : fourth, namaskdra, or the touching 
of the forehead with the open hands joined, and with 
the two thumbs several times: fifth, abhivadana, in 
which the person gently bends forward the head, and 
raises the right hand towards the forehead, which 
is the ordinary mode of salutation. A Sudra coming 
into the presence of a king and a Brahmin, though 
the latter should be in the service of the former, 
would salute the monarch with the common salam, 
reserving the reverential namaskara for the priest. 
When women of equal rank meet in Bengal, they 
salute each other by raising their joined hands to the 
head ; if of different classes, the inferior bows, and 
rubs the dust of her feet upon her forehead, but 
91 Lives of Celebrated Travellers, vol. i. p. 214, 215, 


320 


THE HINDOOS. 


without receiving any mark of recognition from the 
superior. 

The Hindoos indulge in conversation in the most 
extravagant hyberbole. In describing a splendid 
palace, they call it the “ Heaven of Vishnu a 
heavy rain, “ the deluge a crowd, “ assembled 
myriads.” Should they have occasion to mention a 
waterspout, they say, “ the elephants of the god 
Indra are drinking the rainbow is “ R&ma’s bow 
a whirlwind is “ the sporting of infernal spirits 
thunder is “ the sound of Indra’s thunderbolts, hurled 
at the gigantic demons who come to drink water 
from the clouds and lightning is “ the flashing of 
these thunderbolts as they are darted through the 
air.” The circle which appears on slightly hazy 
nights around the moon, is caused by the splendour 
of the gods who are sitting in council with the deity 
of that planet. 

The style which they adopt in their letters, and in 
the compliments prefixed to them, is singularly ex¬ 
travagant. In addressing a king , they say : “ To 
the great, the excellent, the prosperous, the illus¬ 
trious king, Krishna-Chandra Raya, the nourisher 
of multitudes from many countries, the fragrance of 
whose fame has spread through the world ; at whose 
feet many kings, adorned with refulgent crowns, 
bow; whose glory makes his enemies shrink as the 
sun does the moonlight; whose fame is pure as the 
queen of night, the priest of the perpetual sacrificial 
fire.” To a teacher : “ To Abhishtadeva, the ferry¬ 
man across the sea of this world, the teacher of the 
way of deliverance from sin, the sun-like remover of 
the great darkness springing from worldly attach¬ 
ment , the nut which removes the impurity of the 
soul; to thy feet I bow, the nails of which are like 
the horns of the half moon.” To a father: “To the 
excellent person my father, the only author of my 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


321 


existence, my governor, whose mind drinks the honey 
on the water-lily feet of the deity; at thy feet which 
drive away my darkness I supplicate.” To a mother: 
“To my excellent and dignified mother, who bore 
me in her womb; who feeding, nourishing, and com¬ 
forting me, raised me to manhood ; by whom I saw 
the world, and who gave me a body to perform the 
offices of religion; at thy feet I supplicate, which are 
the water-lilies on the reservoir of my heart 98 .” 

When after a short absence two Hindoos, who are 
familiarly known to each other, meet, the inferior, if 
they happen to be of different ranks, endeavours to 
take hold of the feet of the other; this the superior 
prevents; when, the claims of dignity being satisfied, 
they embrace each other, move their heads twice 
from one shoulder to the other, and then make 
mutual inquiries respecting each other’s welfare. 
“ Through your favour,” the inferior replies, “ I 
continue wellor, “ As you command, all is well.” 
Or he asks in his turn, “ How ? Is the house well ?” 
meaning the family ; for to inquire more particularly 
would be contrary to etiquette. A Brahmin sitting 
accidentally near a stranger of the same class, whom 
he imagines his inferior, inquires, “ Of what caste 
are you?” “ I am a Brahmin.” “ To which line of 
Brahmins do you belong?” “ I am (for example) a 
Rarhi Brahmin.” “ Of what family ?” “ Of the fa¬ 
mily of Vishnu T’hakura.” And all this is considered 
perfectly accordant with the rules of politeness. 

In India, as in most other countries, the lower 
orders are greatly addicted to quarrelling ; and, 
when thus engaged, give vent to their fury in the 
most vituperative language. Not unfrequently this 
energetic style of popular eloquence rouses the cho- 
ler so far that they come to blows. In this case the 
person struck sometimes appeals to the spectators, 
92 Ward, vol. iii. p. 190. 


322 


THE HINDOOS. 


and, taking hold of their feet, says, “ You are wit¬ 
nesses that he struck me.” Those for whom a court 
of justice has no charms, anticipate this action by 
exclaiming, “ Ah, do not touch our feet !*' On 
other occasions the injured person takes a corner of 
the garment of every person present, and tying it in 
a knot, invokes their testimony. When guilty of 
common swearing, the Hindoo says, “ If I live, let 
me endure all the sorrow you would endure if I 
should die!” But, for the sake of despatch, all this 
is supposed to be expressed by the three words “ Eat 
your head!” Another says, “ If I have committed 
such an action, let me become a leper!’’ Or, to sum 
up all human ills in one word, he utters the horrible 
imprecation of “ May I become a Chandala !” 

■ When any person happens to sneeze, all those 
present say “ Live,”to which the sneezer replies, “with 
you.” Those who yawn must snap their thumb and 
finger, repeating at the same time the name of some 
god, as “ Rama ! R&ma ! ” 

A very extraordinary practice, which might, per¬ 
haps, be advantageously imitated in more civilized 
communities, prevails among the superior classes of 
Hindoos : they have in their houses an apartment 
called krodhagara , or “ the chamber of anger,” in 
which any member of the family, who happens to 
be out of temper, shuts himself up, until solitude has 
medicined his rage. When sufficient time for reflec¬ 
tion has been allowed, the master of the family goes, 
and endeavours to bring back the seceder to the 
domestic circle. If by chance it should be a woman, 
he inquires what she wants. To this she perhaps 
replies, that she desires to have a large fish to eat 
every day—having probably seen one in the hands 
of some female member of the family—or a palan¬ 
keen and bearers to carry her daily to the" river to 
bathe; or a large sum of money to perform the wor- 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 


323 


ship of some idol; or rich garments, and costly and 
beautiful ornaments. Having obtained her wishes, 
she consents, to borrow a vulgar English adage, “ to 
come out of Coventry.” 

When a Hindoo has met with misfortunes in a 
particular house, he accounts for the circumstance by 
supposing that there must be some bones buried in 
it, and under this impression he frequently removes 
to another dwelling. In fact, when bones have been 
repeatedly found in a house, it is almost always 
abandoned. Their method of recovering stolen goods 
is remarkable. Should suspicion alight upon any 
person in the house, they in some place collect 
together all the members of the family, and rub their 
thumb-nails, imagining that the name of the thief will 
become legible on the nail of the offender. 

It is considered unlucky for travellers to leave their 
home and undertake a journey in certain months. 
They likewise regard it as ominous of evil, when a 
person about to commence any undertaking hears 
the rustling, or the voice, or chirping of a lizard, or 
if any one sneezes; or if, being about to set out on 
a journey, he be called back; or strikes his head 
against anything, or sees an empty kalasa, or water- 
pan. ‘‘Ah ! say they, I suppose some evil will befall 
me to-day, for the first person I saw this morning was 
such or such a miserable wretch!” The following 
are enumerated among good omens: if a traveller, 
departing on a journey, sees a dead body, a kalasa 
full of water, or a jackal on his left; or a cow, a deer, 
or a Brahmin on his right. ' The creators of Hindoo 
superstition have taken care to class themselves among 
those things, the sight of which, as indicative of good 
fortune, is always a source of pleasure. 

Among the delights of the Hindoo, of every rank 
and age, is the hooka. This consists of three prin¬ 
cipal parts ; first, “ a wooden, brass, or glass bottle 


324 


THE HINDOOS. 


containing water; second, a hollow pipe, inserted in 
the head of this bottle, and reaching down into the 
water, on which a cup is placed containing tobacco 
and fire; third, in the vacuum, at the head of the 
bottle, is also placed what is termed a snake, or 
crooked pipe, one end of which descends into the 
water, and to the other end the mouth is applied, 
and through it the smoke is drawn, after being cooled 
in the water.” Instead of the brass, or glass bottle, 
the poorer natives make use of a cocoa-nut, with a 
small reed for a pipe. Few persons chew tobacco, 
though many ladies mix a leaf or two with their 
pana : but, among the higher castes, the women 
eschew both snuff and tobacco. It is not unusual, 
however, for the learned pandits, who might other¬ 
wise perhaps dose over their metaphysics, to take 
snuff, which they carry about in a large snail-shell, 
used as a snuff-box 93 . 

A large portion of the Hindoo population is at 
present divided into two great classes, denominated 
“ the Right Hand,” and the Left Hand.” To the 
Left Hand belong the whole Yaisya tribe, the Pan- 
chala, or five castes of artisans, and some other 
inferior tribes of Sudras, together with the Chakili, 
or “ cobblers,” whom the Abbe Dubois denominates 
“ the most infamous of all castes.” The Right Hand 
reckons among its partisans the most distinguished 
castes of Sudras. To these Dubois adds the Pariahs, 
who, he says, are “its strongest bulwarkbut then, 
in the next line, these same Pariahs are enumerated, 
together with the Brahmins, and several tribes of 
Sudras, among those who remain neuter. “ The 
Pariahs, therefore, belong, and do not belong, to the 
division of the Right Hand. Be this as it may, the 
opposition between these divisions of the people 

83 Ward, View of the History, Literature, &c. of the 
Hindoos, vol. iii. p. 200. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


325 


arises from certain privileges to which they both lay 
claim; “and when any encroachment is made by either, 
it is instantly followed by tumults, which frequently 
spread over whole provinces, accompanied with every 
excess, and generally with bloody contests. Gentlest 
of all creatures, timid under all other circumstances, 
here only the Hindoo seems to change his nature. 
There is no danger that he fears to encounter in 
maintaining what he considers his right; and rather 
than yield it, he is ready to make any sacrifice, and 
even to hazard his life. I have repeatedly witnessed 
instances of these popular insurrections excited by 
the disputes between the two hands, and pushed 
to such an extreme of fury that the presence of a 
military force under arms had no effect to quiet them, 
nor even to allay their clamours, or stop their outra¬ 
geous course in what they conceive the rightful cause. 
I have known instances made by the magistrates to 
soothe these uproars by remonstrances and other 
means of conciliation, and when these have produced 
no effect, they have been obliged to resort to measures 
of compulsion. Some shots of musketry would then 
be tried, but neither this, nor the certainty of its being 
followed up with stronger measures, has the slightest 
effect in abating their insolence. Even when an 
overwhelming military force has fully put them down, 
it is only for the moment; and whenever an oppor¬ 
tunity occurs, they are instantly up again, without 
reflecting on the evils they formerly suffered, or 
showing the smallest tendency to moderate their 
impetuous violence. Such are the excesses to which 
the timid, the peaceable Hindoo sometimes abandons 
himself; w r hile his bloody contests spring out of 
motives which, to an European at least, would appear 
frivolous and trifling. Perhaps the sole cause of the 
contest is his right to wear pantoufles ; or whether he 
may parade in a palanquin or on horseback, on the 

VOL. i. 2 F 


326 


THE HINDOOS. 


day of his marriage. Sometimes it is the privilege of 
being escorted by armed men ; sometimes that of 
having a trumpet sounded before him, or the distinc¬ 
tion of being accompanied by the country music at 
public ceremonies. Perhaps it is the ambition ot 
having flags of certain colours, or with the resemblances 
of certain deities displayed about his person on such 
great occasions. These are some of the important 
privileges amongst many others not less so, in assert¬ 
ing which the Indians do not scruple occasionally to 
shed each other’s blood 94 .’’ 

The Hindoos have been sometimes represented as 
in the highest degree inhospitable and uncharitable; 
principally by writers who appear to have dreaded 
falling under the suspicion of being wanting in philo¬ 
sophical acumen, but we cannot see why an uncha¬ 
ritable prejudice should be considered more philoso¬ 
phical than the opposite error. The business seems 
to be, to discover what is true, not what is favourable 
or unfavourable. When examined without prejudice, 
the Hindoos appear in this, as in most other respects, 
to be deserving alternately of blame and of praise. 
Unfortunately there is nothing striking in this view 
of the matter. To produce a powerful effect, it would 
be necessary to work up the picture with glaring 
colours ; to declaim, to exaggerate ; to rouse indig¬ 
nation ; or to excite and interest the feelings. But 
these advantages we must forego. We can neither 
represent the Hindoos, as some have done, as a 
gentle, amiable, pastoral, Arcadian people, living on 
the fruits of the earth, in all the beautiful simplicity 
of the golden age ; nor can we, with others, who affect 
to entertain superior views, regard this people as a 
sanguinary, inhospitable, treacherous, unfeeling, yet 
timid race, destitute alike of charity and common 
humanity. 

94 Dubois, Description, &e. p. 10 11. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


327 


We have already more than once exposed the fallacy 
of adducing the regulations of a half obsolete code, 
as a proof that certain customs at present prevail 
among the people for whom that code was compiled. 
But when the defects of a people are pretended to 
be traced to its laws, it may not be irrelevant to show 
what the regulations of those laws, on the point in 
question, actually are. Menu recommends hospi¬ 
tality. “ To the guest,*’ says he, “ who comes of his 
own accord, let him (the Brahmin) offer a seat and 
water, with such food as he is able to prepare, after 
the due rites of courtesy. A Brahmin coming as a 
guest, and not received with just honour, takes to 
himself all the reward of the housekeeper's former 
virtue, even though he had been so temperate as to 
live on the gleanings of harvests, and so pious as to 
make oblations in five distinct fires.” Foreseeing that 
some might be reduced to such a state of poverty, 
as to have nothing to bestow on the “ children of 
the road,” as the Arabs expressively denominate 
travellers, the legislator adds: ‘‘ Grass and earth to 
sit on, water to wash the feet, and, fourthly, affec¬ 
tionate speech, are at no time deficient in the mansions 
of the good, although they may be indigent.” 

Indeed, so excellent are the regulations of Menu 
respecting the treatment of guests and strangers, that 
they call to mind the noble maxims of the Heroic 
Ages: 

“ To Jove the stranger and the poor belong, 

He wanders with them, and he feels their wrong,” 

says Homer ; and the practice of the ages he describes 
was answerable to this Christian sentiment. Menu 
is hardly less humane in this particular. “ No guest 
must be dismissed, in the evening, by a housekeeper ; 
he is sent by the retiring sun; and, whether he come 
in fit season, or unseasonably, he must not sojourn in 


328 


THE HINDOOS. 


the house without entertainment. Let not himself 
eat any delicate food, without asking 1 his guest to 
partake of it: the satisfaction of a guest will assuredly 
bring the housekeeper wealth, reputation, long life, 
and a place in heaven.” He, however, desires that 
strangers may be treated according to their rank and 
condition in life. “ To the highest guests in the best 
form, to the lowest in the worst, to the equal equally, 
let him offer seats, resting-places, couches; giving 
them proportionable attendance when they depart, 
and honour as long as they stay. Should another 
guest arrive, when the oblation to all the gods is con¬ 
cluded, for him also let the housekeeper prepare 
food, according to his ability.” 

The exercise of hospitality, it must, however, be 
acknowledged, is in some measure influenced and 
perverted by ideas of caste. “ A military man,” says 
Menu, “ is not denominated a guest in the house of a 
Brahmin; nor a man of the commercial or servile 
class ; nor his familiar friend ; nor his paternal kins¬ 
man ; nor his preceptor: but, if a warrior come to 
his house, in the form of a guest, let food be prepared 
for him, according to his desire, after the Brahmins 
have eaten And, lest the sacerdotal tribe, as they 
are vulgarly denominated, should consider themselves 
at liberty to turn all inferior strangers from their 
doors, the lawgiver adds:—“ Even to a merchant or 
a labourer, approaching his house in the manner of 
guests, let him give food, showing marks of benevo¬ 
lence at the same time with his domestics 65 .” 

These texts are a sufficient proofthat it was intended 
by their lawgivers that the Hindoos should practise 
the virtue of hospitality. If, therefore, they do not 
practise it, the blame must rest with their own uncha¬ 
ritable, inhuman dispositions, which incline them, we 
are told, to look with indifference on the sufferings of 
95 Institutes of Menu, chap. iii. ver. 99—112. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


329 


others. We have heard the voice of the law ; let us 
now inquire into the facts. “ The Brahmins,” says 
Orme, “ have made their gods require, besides the 
necessity of endowing their temples, the practice of 
all other kinds of charities, by which the necessities of 
human nature may be relieved. A third part of the 
wealth of every Hindoo is expended on such occasions. 
The Brahmins themselves profess great hospitality, 
and by this address preserve that extreme veneration, 
which otherwise would be lost through the effects of 
envy, in a detestation of their impositions 96 .” 

Here we find, from the avowal of a writer whose 
views of the Hindoos are highly unfavourable, that 
the whole nation, including the Brahmins, habitually 
exercise every kind of charity, to sc incredible an 
extent that every individual Hindoo expends in this 
way a third part of his property. This, however, we 
regard as exaggeration. But it is a fair example of 
that random style in which authors sometimes indulge. 
It must be perfectly evident that no individual could 
make such an assertion on his own knowledge, any 
more than that which immediately follows it, which 
refers every benevolent action of a Hindoo to a 
superstitious motive. Our opinion is directly the 
reverse of Mr. Orme’s. We refer the charities, the 
hospitality of the Hindoo, to the ineradicable sympa¬ 
thies of human nature; and imagine that it is the 
debasing spirit of his superstition which prevents 
those virtues from being more frequently and more 
actively exercised. 

Forbes, who when he has to express an opinion of 

96 Oriental Fragments, quoted by Forbes, Orient. Mem. vol. i. 
p. 227. This writer, it is true, attributes the charity of the 
Hindoos to superstitious motives, and describes them as “ infa¬ 
mous for the want of generosity and gratitude in the commerces 
of friendship,” But we know of no good action the merit of 
which might not, by this kind of sophistry, be entirely 
obliterated. 


2 f 3 


330 


THE HINDOOS. 


his own, occasionally betrays the embarrassment of a 
man who is puzzled what to say, unites with Mr. 
Onne, however, in bearing testimony to the fact that 
the Hindoos do in reality perform charitable actions ; 
though he is in doubt whether to denominate the 
spirit which prompts them real charity or not. But 
we will content ourselves with the facts, and leave the 
motives to be appreciated hereafter, at a more compe¬ 
tent tribunal. “ Irrigation,” says he, “ being absolutely 
necessary in a climate where rain only falls during 
four months in the year, the preservation of water is 
a most important object; the Brahmins therefore 
judiciously persuade their disciples to build reservoirs, 
and construct wells as the most acceptable charity 
they can confer: in the Travencore dominions are 
many expensive works of this kind; some made by 
the generosity of individuals, others at the public 
expense. The high roads are planted on each side 
with cajew-apple, tamarind, and mango trees, which 
adorn the country, and shade the traveller: caravansa¬ 
ries, or choultries , are erected at convenient distances 
for his accommodation. Charity of this kind is 
everywhere inculcated ; and it is equally the ambition 
of a southern Malabar as of a northern Hindoo, to 
have a tank, a well, or a choultry called after his 
name. Under despotic princes, where property is 
never secure, and to be reputed rich is to be really 
unfortunate, such munificent acts are far from being 
uncommon : the fame of these benevolent works and 
the tranquillity of domestic life, form the chief happi¬ 
ness of a people unaccustomed to public spectacles or 
the refinements of polished society 

It is, we believe, a rule which may be safely followed 
in all cases, that the testimony which a man gives un¬ 
willingly in favour of another, is of more weight 


97 Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. p. 377. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


331 


than that of a witness who palpably favours the 
accused. Accordingly, we should lay considerable 
Stress on the following passage: “The fifth privilege 
of the Brahmins is that of giving alms and presents ; 
which it may be supposed they indulge in less will¬ 
ingly than in the sixth, which consists in the right 
of receiving them. But it must be allowed that 
there are a great number of people of this caste who 
practise hospitality, and exercise other works of 
charity. Yet, as in the eyes of all the members of 
this sect, every other man is an object of indifference, 
and even of contempt, we may be allowed to lay it 
down as a general remark, that generosity and com¬ 
passion are virtues not natural to the Brahmins 98 .” 

The fragments which remain after a repast are 
thrown to the dogs, as neither the domestics nor 
the poor, unless they be Pariahs, will touch them. 
The alms given to the poor, consist of clean boiled 
rice, untouched by any one. But they who rigidly 
follow the usages of caste, more particularly the 
Brahmins, will not receive it even in this state, but 
require that it should be given them undressed". As 
an incitement to charity, the Hindoos, according to 
the same author, are taught that “ good works, such 
as giving alms to the Brahmins, erecting places 
of hospitality on the highways, building temples, 
contributing to the expenses of worship, digging 
tanks, and many other meritorious acts of charity, 
when united to the various remedies already de¬ 
scribed, greatly enhance their efficacy, and contri¬ 
bute exceedingly to the cleansing of the soul from 
recent stains, as well as from those which have ad¬ 
hered to it from its former existence 10 °.” 

This account applies chiefly to the Mysore and the 

98 Dubois, Description of the Manners, &c. of the People 
of India, p. 104. 

" Ibid. p. 12. 100 Ibid. p. 127 



332 


THE HINDOOS. 


Malabar coast; but similar charitable institutions are 
equally found in other parts of the country. In those 
districts of Guzerat which lie between Surat and 
Baroche, there are in most villages public wells and 
tanks, “ where the pilgrim and his cattle are sure of 
finding abundance of water, except in dry seasons; 
and then some charitable individual generally allevi¬ 
ates the failure, by placing a person to dispense 
water gratis from a temporary receptacle 10 V’ Upon 
the words of Christ, “ whosoever shall give you a 
cup of water to drink, in my name, verily I say unto 
you he shall not lose his reward,” Dr. Clarke ob¬ 
serves that “ it appears from the most authentic 
information that the Hindoos go sometimes a great 
way to fetch water; and then boil it that it may not 
be hurtful to travellers who are hot; after this they 
stand from morning to night in some great road 
where there is neither pit nor rivulet, and offer it in 
honour of their gods, to be drunk by the passengers. 
This necessary work of charity in those countries, 
seems to have been practised among the more pious 
and humane Jews; and our Lord assures them that 
if they do this in his name , they shall not lose their 
reward. This one circumstance of the Hindoos offer¬ 
ing water to the fatigued passengers in honour of 
their gods , is a better illustration of our Lord’s words, 
than all the collections of Harmer on the subject 102 .” 

The virtue of hospitality in India, as elsewhere, 
prevails most in the wilder and more unfrequented 
districts. “ I sometimes frequented places,” says 
Forbes, Ce where the natives had never seen an 
European, and were ignorant of every thing con¬ 
cerning us; there I beheld manners and customs 
simple as were those in the patriarchal age; there, in 
the very style of Rebecca, and the damsels of Meso- 

101 Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, vol. it p. 215. 

102 Cited by Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 216. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, 


333 


potamia, the Hindoo villagers treated me with that 
artless hospitality so delightful in the poems of 
Homer, and other ancient records. On a sultry day, 
near a Zinore village, having rode faster than my 
attendants, while waiting their arrival under a tama¬ 
rind tree, a young woman came to the well; I asked 
for a little water, but neither of us having a drinking 
vessel, she hastily left me, as I imagined, to bring an 
earthen cup for the purpose, as I should have pol¬ 
luted a vessel of metal: but as Jael, when Sisera 
asked for water, gave him milk and ‘brought forth 
butter in a lordly dish,’ so did this village damsel, 
with more sincerity than Heber’s wife, bring me a 
pot of milk, and a lump of butter on the delicate 
leaf of the banana, ‘ the lordly dish of the Hindoos.’ 
The former I gladly accepted: on my declining the 
latter, she immediately made it up into two balls, and 
gave one to each of the oxen that drew my hackery. 
Butter is a luxury to these animals and enables 
them to bear additional fatigue 103 . 

Though from individual examples of virtue nothing 
general can be concluded, the reader will still be 
gratified in observing the style in which an opulent 
Hindoo dispenses his bounty. Lullabhy, a rich ze¬ 
mindar (a land-holder, or proprietor of land) of Ba- 
roche, had, by extensive transactions in the revenue 
department, acquired a princely fortune. In his 
dealings with government he was suspected of having 
exhibited a slight dash of Jewish policy; but “ as a 
charitable man, 7 ’ says Forbes, “ this wealthy banian 
appeared very conspicuous; he daily appropriated 
a considerable sum of money to alms-giving and 
relieving persons in distress; no mendicant was dis¬ 
missed from his gate without a measure of rice, or 
a mess of vegetable pottage mingled with meal. In 
time of dearth he distributed grain throughout the 
103 Oriental Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 503, 504. 


334 


THE HINDOOS. 


villages in the Baroche district; nor was his bounty 
confined to those of the Hindoo religion. He re¬ 
paired public tanks and choultries for travellers, dug 
several common wells, and constructed a bowree, or 
large well, in the Baroche suburbs, with steps leading 
down to the water, all of hewn stone, in a very hand¬ 
some style of architecture. A marble tablet, placed 
over the fountain of this noble reservoir, contains a 
short inscription more expressive and beautiful in the 
Persian language than can be given in an English 
translation:—‘ The bounties of Lullabhy are ever 
flowing’ 104 .” 

The presents which this generous individual dis¬ 
tributed on the marriage of his son exceeded twelve 
thousand pounds. 

Among the virt ues of the Rajpoots, Colonel Tod, 
who perfectly understands the nation of whom he 
writes, repeatedly enumerates generosity, courtesy, 
and the most liberal hospitality. He is not one of 
those travellers, who, touching at certain points upon 
the coast, or riding post, as it were, over a few dis¬ 
tricts, acquire by a kind of intuition peculiar to 
themselves a complete knowledge of the character 
and manners of the people. The better part of his 
life has been spent in India, and among the Hindoos. 
Chivalrous, courteous, disinterested 10 *, like the brave 
race which he describes, he has mingled freely with 
the natives of all ranks; and may, without the 
slightest reserve, be pronounced in every sense the 

104 Oriental Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 250. 

105 All this the author infers from the able and highly inte¬ 
resting work of Colonel Tod, with whom he has not the honour 
of being personally acquainted. No one, however, can peruse 
his ‘ Annals of Rajast’han,’ with its numerous anecdotes, and 
rich illustrations of manners, through which the character of 
the writer continually peeps forth, without being impressed, as 
he goes along, with a similar respect for the character of the 
writer. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


335 


best existing authority for whatever relates to the 
character and manners of the warlike tribes of 
Northern India. From among the innumerable 
passages in which he bears testimony to the splendid 
virtues of the Rajpoots, we select the following, illus¬ 
trative of the point in question. “ Hurba Sankla, 
at once a soldier and a devotee, was one of those 
Rajpoot cavaliers ‘ sans peur et sans reproche,’ whose 
life of celibacy and perilous adventure was mingled 
with the austere devotion of an ascetic; by turns 
aiding with his lance the cause which he deemed 
worthy, or exercising an unbounded hospitality 
towards the stranger. This generosity had much 
reduced his resources when Joda sought his protec¬ 
tion. It was the eve of the Sudda Birt , one of those 
hospitable rites which, in former times, characterized 
Rajwarra. This ‘ perpetual charity’ supplies food 
to the stranger and traveller, and is distributed not 
only by individual chiefs and by the government, 
but by subscriptions of communities. Even in 
Mewar, in her present impoverished condition, the 
offerings to the gods in support of their shrines and 
the establishment of the Sudda Birt, were simultane¬ 
ous. Hospitality is a virtue pronounced to belong 
more peculiarly to a semi-barbarous condition. Alas ! 
for refinement and ultra-civilization, strangers to 
the happiness enjoyed by Hurba Sankla. Joda with 
one hundred and twenty followers came to solicit 
the * stranger’s fare;’ but unfortunately it was too 
late, the Sudda Birt had been distributed. In this 
exigence Hurba recollected that there was a wood 
called mvjd , used in dyeing, which among other 
things in the desert regions is resorted to in scarcity. 
A portion of this was bruised, and boiled with some 
flour, sugar, and spices, making altogether a pala¬ 
table pottage ; and with a promise of better fare on 
the morrow, it was set before the young Rao an$ 


336 


THE HINDOOS. 


his followers, who, after making a good repast, soon 
forgot Cheetore in sleep. On waking each stared 
at his fellow, for their mustaches were dyed with their 
evening’s meal; but the old chief, who was not dis¬ 
posed to reveal his expedient, made it minister to their 
hopes by giving it a miraculous character, and saying 
that as the grey of age was thus metamorphosed into 
the tint of morn and hope, so would their fortunes 
become young, and Mundore again be theirs 106 .” 

During the wars of Jehangir, an example of Raj¬ 
poot hospitality, accompanied by a remarkable degree 
of religious toleration, was afforded by the Rana of 
Oodipoor. Sultan Khorum and Mohabet Khan, de¬ 
feated by the imperial armies, took refuge at the capi¬ 
tal of Mewar. In this asylum the prince “remained 
undisturbed : apartments in the palace were assigned 
to him; but his followers little respecting Rajpoot 
prejudices, the island became his residence, on which 
a sumptuous edifice was raised adorned with a lofty 
dome, crowned with the crescent. The interior was 
decorated with mosaic, in onyx, cornelian, jaspers, and 
agates, rich Turkey carpets, &c.; and that nothing 
of state might be wanting to the royal refugee, a 
throne was sculptured from a single block of serpen¬ 
tine, supported by quadriform female Caryatidae. In 
the court a little chapel was erected to the Moham¬ 
medan saint Madar, and here the prince with his court 
resided; every wish anticipated, till a short time before 
his father’s death, when he retired into Persia 107 .” 

The choultries of India, which, like the khans or - 
caravanserais of Musulman countries, are a species 
of inn where travellers are lodged gratis, generally 
consist of two square courts enclosed by low build¬ 
ings, which are covered with a tiled roof, and divided 
into small apartments for the accommodation of 

106 Annals of Raj ast’han, vol i. p. 281, 282. 

107 Ibid.p. 371. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


337 


travellers. In many instances, as in that of Yira 
Permal’s choultry, near Conjeveram, these buildings 
are surrounded on the outside by a colonnade, and 
are constructed of well-cut granite. The public 
tanks are of two kinds : the first is that called eray> 
which is fbrmed by throwing a mound or embank¬ 
ment across a valley, or hollow ground; so that the 
rain-water collects in the upper part of the valley* 
and, when required for the purposes of cultivation, is 
let out upon the low lands by sluices. The other 
kind of tank, which is called kulam, intended to 
supply the natives with water for daily domestic use, 
is a small lake artificially formed. In the Dekkan 
these kulams “ are very frequently lined on all the 
four sides with cut stone, and are the most elegant 
works of the natives. By making tanks and choul¬ 
tries, the wealthy Hindoos endeavour to procure a 
lasting good name ; and they certainly deserve it, as 
the sums they expend in this way are very con¬ 
siderable, and the utility of the works is very great 108 .” 
Princes sometimes imitate the example of their opu¬ 
lent subjects. Vishnu Verdhana Raya, a monarch 
who reigned about seven hundred years ago, over 
an extensive kingdom in the Dekkan, constructed a 
magnificent reservoir capable of furnishing water for 
the irrigation of a large tract of country; a work 
which, as Buchanan justly remarks, ought to render 
this prince’s name venerable to the latest posterity 109 . 
At Madhagiri, in the Telinga country, the same 
traveller saw in the midst of fine gardens one of the 
handsomest buildings for the reception of travellers 
which he had any where met with in India, erected 
by the public-spirited Mul Rajah 110 . 

108 Buchanan, Journey through the Mysore, &c. vol. i. p. 10, 

11 , 12 . 

109 Ibid. p. 139. 110 Ibid. p. 362. 

VOL. I. 2 G 


338 


THE HINDOOS. 


Among'the Goalas n \ or cow-keepers of the My¬ 
sore, when the flocks of any family have perished, 
either by war or pestilence, the sufferers go and sO- 
l.cit a new stock from the other persons of the caste, 
each of whom will give a beast or two for that pur¬ 
pose. Should they be so unreasonable as to refuse 
this bounty, the Beny Chavadi , or chief of the tribe, 
will compel them to assist their distressed neighbours. 
Their charity and benevolence, though sometimes 
confined to individuals of their own caste, are in 
many cases magnificent. The Kudali Swami , who 
is Guru of all the Mahratta Brahmins, by whom he 
is regarded as an actual incarnation of the deity, ex¬ 
hibited during the Mahratta wars an eminent example 
of Hindoo hospitality. “ The Swami is said to have 
been of great use in the famine, and to have em¬ 
ployed the utmost of his influence in collecting 
money to support the starving wretches. He daily 
fed three thousand Brahmins, and other religious 
mendicants; for according to the Hindoo doctrine 
it is the charity which is bestowed on religious men, 
that chiefly procures favour in the eyes of the gods. 
In his distributions, the Swami is said to have 
expended six lacs of rupees, or ,£60,441. 13s. 4 d., 
most of which was collected in the Mahratta 
states 112 .” 

Having thus, with the aid of several eye-witnesses, 
described the principal features of Hindoo manners, 
in as far as those manners are illustrative of national _ 
character, it remains to draw from these premises 
such conclusions as they appear to warrant. There 
is no nation concerning which we ought to be so 
cautious of hazarding general reflections as the Hin¬ 
doos. All the natives of India have in most instances, 
it is true, the air of being descended from the same 

111 Journey through the Mysore, &c. vol. ii. p. 5, &c. 

112 Buchanan, Journey, &c. vol. iii. p. 290. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


339 


original*stock. Many of their leading ideas, both in 
religion and civil government, appear in general to 
assimilate so far as to point to one common source ; 
they have all many superstitions, many customs, and 
many prejudices in common: but the same thing, in 
a rather wider sense, may be predicated of,all the 
various families of mankind. No definition of a 
Hindoo that can be conceived will apply to the 
whole nation, or even to the majority ; unless it be 
couched in terms so vague that it would admit at the 
same time the Polynesian, the Malay, the Siamese, 
and the Burmese. Within the limits of the vast 
empire of Hindoostan, we find man in every stage 
of civilization, from the philosopher who reasons 
calmly and piously on the nature of God, on the 
universe, on man’s condition, both here and here¬ 
after, down to the cannibal savage, to whom God 
and every spiritual substance is unknown. Of a na¬ 
tion composed of materials so heterogeneous, what 
can be said? There is no degree of cruelty, no 
excess of vice, no hardened profligacy, no ineffable 
abomination, of which we cannot find examples 
among the Hindoos: but neither is there, on the 
other hand, any height of virtue which they have 
not reached. 

No priesthood, either ancient or modern, has sur¬ 
passed the Brahmins in arrogance, duplicity, cruelty, 
or profligacy of manners. It is to the artifices and 
unprincipled policy of these men, in fact, that India 
owes her present degradation. They have, as far as 
their influence extended, demoralized their country. 
Addicted to intrigue, hungering and thirsting after 
empire, they have hesitated at no means of attaining 
their end. Under the cloak of religion they have 
in public fomented bloody persecutions, burnings, 
mutilations, tortures, human victims. Tyrants and 
slaves, by turns, they have sometimes wielded the 


340 


THE HINDOOS. 


rod of power with ferocity, at others cringed and 
fawned upon those who stretched it over them. But 
it should be remembered that the Brahmins are in 
India what the Levites were among the Hebrews,— 
a single tribe. Possibly they do not form more than 
a twentieth part of the population. In many parts 
of the country their influence is weak; in others it 
does not exist. Nowhere is it so great as it formerly 
was. From the beginning, indeed, their attempt to 
monopolize knowledge, and the power which it con¬ 
fers, was vain. Philosophers of other castes arose, 
and by the splendour of their genius eclipsed the 
proudest of these sacerdotal usurpers. In contem¬ 
plating the Hindoo character, it would therefore be 
unjust to confine our views to the Brahmins, who 
form but a small part of the whole nation, and who, 
besides, are not all deserving of the severe judgment 
which we have been compelled to pass collectively 
on the caste. The great majority of the people are 
of a different stamp. Deficient in that physical and 
mental energy which forms the characteristic of na¬ 
tions nurtured in liberty, and ripened by a more 
temperate sun, they naturally endeavour to make up 
by subtlety and acuteness of intellect for the lack of 
force and intrepidity; and have thus acquired a re¬ 
putation for accomplished dissimulation. But every 
man is prone to dissemble where resentment is im¬ 
possible; and the Hindoo, when in possession of com¬ 
parative freedom, as in Rajast’han, rejoices to castoff 
the slough of hypocrisy, and feels the manly pleasure 
of having and advancing an opinion of his own. 

Despotism, like a perpetual pestilence, has always 
infested the great countries of Asia, and to this cir¬ 
cumstance must we attribute the leading vices of the 
oriental character. Where the monarchical principle 
reigns naked, in all its deformity, in all its terrors, life 
is felt to be eminently uncertain. Like the Persian 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


341 


courtier of old, every man upon whom the colossal 
shadow of power has fallen, feels his head to assure 
himself, as it were, that it is still on his shoulders. 
As every person reflects that each day may be his 
last, he snatches with frantic eagerness the enjoy¬ 
ments within his reach. Sensual enjoyments are 
everywhere most easily commanded. Those afforded 
by intellectual exertions demand forethought, prepa¬ 
ration, and, above all, time, of the possession of 
which the Oriental is utterly uncertain; from those 
of power he is in most instances debarred; he, there¬ 
fore, sinks by a kind of fatal necessity into sensualism, 
and, once debauched, loses for ever the relish of the 
superior pleasures of the soul, even should they be 
placed within his reach. 

It is a law of human nature that, in the midst of 
great calamities, when, from the multiplication of 
death and agony around, the footing of life is found 
to be unstable, man should grow heedless, not only 
of other men’s sufferings, but also of his own. No 
cause is so trifling, but that it will serve a Hindoo 
as an excuse for throwing off the burden of life. In 
Western India, a Hindoo charged with the transport¬ 
ing of a sum of money, or with the conducting of a 
traveller through a forest, happens to be encountered 
by robbers; to deter them from executing their de¬ 
sign, he threatens to shed his blood, and imprecate 
upon their heads the vengeance of heaven for the 
crime. In most cases the menace is effectual; but, 
if the outlaws set him at naught, he cuts his throat 
before their faces. In other cases, a prince seizes 
upon a miserable piece of land, supposed to belong 
to a temple. To compel him to restore it, or in re¬ 
venge for his refusal, a Brahmin, or a whole troop 
of Brahmins, proceed to his palace, and shed their 
blood upon his threshold. A woman is accidentally 
seen by a foreigner eating her food, which, among 


342 


THE HINDOOS. 


certain tribes of Hindoos, is thought to be indeco¬ 
rous ; for this unintentional sin against etiquette, she 
determines to die, endeavours, like the Roman slave, 
to beat our her “ desperate brains” against the wall, 
and, failing, prevails upon her own son, by threaten¬ 
ing him with a mother’s curse, to rid her of her life, 
for which he is afterwards executed as a murderer. 

Notwithstanding these proofs of ferocity of cha¬ 
racter, which, though they might be greatly multi¬ 
plied, are sufficient to show the perverted state of 
society in India, the Hindoos in general are far from 
being a reckless, unfeeling, savage people. “ I do 
not by any means assent,” says Bishop Heber, “ to 
the pictures of depravity and general worthlessness 
which some have drawn of the Hindoos. They are 
decidedly by nature a mild, pleasing, intelligent race ; 
sober, parsimonious, and, where an object is held 
out to them, most industrious and persevering. But 
the magistrates and lawyers all agree, that in no 
country are lying and perjury so common and so 
little regarded. Notwithstanding the apparent mild¬ 
ness of their manners, the criminal calendar is gene¬ 
rally as full as in Ireland, with gang-robberies, setting 
fire to buildings, &e.; and the number of children 
who are decoyed aside, and murdered for the sake 
of their ornaments. Lord Amherst assures me, is 
dreadful 118 .” 

Without calling in question the opinion of the 
“ magistrates and lawyers,” whose experience, hqw- 
ever, was most likely confined to the country in 
which they lived, or at farthest, to India and Eng¬ 
land, which, in this respect, can of course be ex¬ 
pected to bear no comparison, it may be remarked 
that wherever despotism prevails, falsehood and dis¬ 
simulation among the people are the necessary results. 
“ On the whole,” continues the traveller, “ they are 
113 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. iii. p. 254. 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


343 


a lively, intelligent, and interesting people: of the 
upper classes a very considerable proportion learn 
our language, read our books and our newspapers, 
and show a desire to court our society; the peasants 
are anxious to learn English, and though certainly 
very few of them have as yet embraced Christianity, 
I do not think their reluctance is more than might 
have been expected in any country where a system so 
entirely different from that previously professed was 
offered, and offered by those of whom, as their con¬ 
querors, they may well entertain considerable jea¬ 
lousy. Their own religion is, indeed, a horrible one; 
far more so than I had conceived ; it gives them no 
moral precepts ; it encourages them in vice by the 
style of its ceremonies, and the character given of 
its deities, and by the institution of castes, it hardens 
their hearts against each other to a degree which is 
often most revolting 114 .” 

The bishop then proceeds to relate several anec¬ 
dotes illustrative of the demoralizing effects of the 
system of castes, which, as he himself considers 
them as extraordinary occurrences, can by no means 
affect our view of the national character. No man 
would think of taking his conception of the English 
nation from those solitary monsters which some¬ 
times start up amongst us, and startle the world by 
their stupendous flagitiousness ; of the French, from 
the massacre of St. Barthelemy, or the Reign of 
Terror; of the Dutch, from the atrocities, of Am- 
boyna. These are horrors, perpetrated by heads 
turned delirious by crime, at which every civilized 
man of every nation shudders. Let us act on the 
same principles in judging of the Hindoos. And, in 
fact, it is upon these principles that the benevolent 
and candid Heber proceeds: “ The national temper,” 
he observes, “ is decidedly good, gentle, and kind; 

114 Narrative, &c. vol. iii. p. 261. 


344 


THE HINDOOS. 


they are sober, industrious, affectionate to their rela¬ 
tions ; generally speaking faithful to their masters, 
easily attached by kindness and confidence, and in 
the case of the military oath, are of admirable obe¬ 
dience, courage, and fidelity in life and death. But 
their morality does not extend beyond the reach of 
positive obligations; and where these do not exist, 
they are oppressive, cruel, treacherous, and every 
thing that is bad. We have heard much in Eng¬ 
land of their humanity to animals; I can only say 

that I have seen no tokens of it in Calcutta. 

Do not suppose I am prejudiced against the Hin¬ 
doos. In my personal intercourse with them, I 
have seen much to be pleased with, and all which I 
hear and believe as to what they might be with a 
better creed, makes me the more earnest in stating 
the horrors for which their present creed, as I think, 
is answerable 115 .” 

If we rightly understand the traveller, by those who 
are not under the empire of “ positive obligations,” 
he means the native rulers of India, who are gene¬ 
rally tyrants ; and tyrants are much the same all the 
world over. This opinion, however, was formed 
upon a slight acquaintance with the people, in the 
January of 1824, previous to his journey through 
the interior of the country, during which his oppor¬ 
tunities of studying their manners and character 
were very considerable. Fourteen months later, 
when he had nearly completed his tour of the whole 
empire, corrected his opinions, enlarged his expe¬ 
rience, and matured his views, we find his judgment 
of the Hindoo character much more favourable. 
“ Of the people,” says he, writing to Mr. Wynn, 
from Pertaubghur, in Malwah, “ so far as their 
natural character is concerned, I have been led to 
form, on the whole, a very favourable opinion. They 
115 Narrative, &c. vol. iii. p. 264, 265. 



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 


345 


have unhappily many of the vices arising from 
slavery, from an unsettled state of society, and im¬ 
moral and erroneous systems of religion. But they 
are men of high and gallant courage, courteous, in¬ 
telligent, and most eager after knowledge and im¬ 
provement, with a remarkable aptitude for the ab¬ 
stract sciences, geometry, astronomy, &c., and for the 
imitative arts, painting and sculpture. They are 
sober, industrious, dutiful to their parents, and affec¬ 
tionate to their children, of tempers almost uniformly 
gentle and patient, and more easily affected by kind¬ 
ness and attention to their wants and feelings, than 
almost any men whom I have met with. Their 
faults seem to arise from the hateful superstitions to 
which they are subject, and the unfavourable state 
of society in which they are placed. But if it should 
please God to make any considerable portion of 
them Christians, they would, I can well believe, put 
the best European Christians to shame. They are 
the sepoys and irregular horse of whom I chiefly 
speak, for of these it is that I have happened to see 
most, having taken all opportunities of conversing 
with my escort, and having, for several weeks toge¬ 
ther, had scarcely anybody else to converse with. I 
find, however, that my opinion of both these classes 
of men is that of all the officers in the company’s ser¬ 
vice to whom I have named the subject; and so far 
as my experience reaches, which certainly is not 
great, I have no reason to suppose that the classes 
whom I have mentioned, are not a fair average 
specimen of the other inhabitants of the country 116 .” 

116 Narrative, &c. vol. iii. p. 333, 334. 


346 


THE HINDOOS. 


Chapter VIII. 

FOOD—STATURE—DRESS—ORNAMENTS—AND 
DWELLINGS 


The prejudices existing in Europe respecting the 
Hindoos are innumerable. Those relating to caste, 
to religion, and to their general manners, we have 
endeavoured to remove. Our ordinary ideas of 
their food, of the simplicity of their habits, of their 
universal abstemiousness, sobriety, and superstitious 
reluctance to destroy animal life, next present them¬ 
selves for our consideration. In the imagination of 
many writers, India has hitherto been a kind of 
Utopia, where, amid palmyra groves and bloodless 
altars, a race of gentle character, regarding the 
inferior animals as their brethren, in whose bodies 
the souls of their erring forefathers and deceased 
relations had been lodged in penance, lead a peaceful, 
harmless life. 

This view of the matter is supported, it must be 
owned, by authorities to which the public are accus¬ 
tomed to attribute considerable weight. The, Court 
of Directors of the East India Company* who should 
know something of the character and habits of their 
subjects, inform the world that the great majority of the 
Hindoos “ live all their days upon rice, and go only 
half-covered with a slight cotton cloth 1 .” Montes- 

1 Quoted by Mr. Rickards in his useful and valuable work 
on India, vol. i. p. 48. The testimony of this writer is entitled 
to very great respect, not merely because a large portion of his 
life has been spent in India—for others have lived much longer 
in that country and yet returned full of prejudices—but because 
his views are "distinguished for sound manly good sense. He 


FOOD. 


347 


quieu, from whom the Directors would appear to 
have borrowed their notions of the condition and 
wants of their own subjects, recurring, as usual, to 
his favourite ideas on the influence of climate, re¬ 
marks, that that of the Hindoos “ neither requires 
nor permits the use of almost any of our commodi¬ 
ties. Accustomed to go almost naked, the country 
furnishes them with the scanty raiments they wear; 
and their religion, to which they are in absolute 
subjection, instils into them an aversion to that sort 
of food which we consume. They, therefore, need 
nothing from us but our metals, which are the signs 
of value, and for which they give in return the mer¬ 
chandize that their frugality and the nature of the 
country supply in abundance.” 

These assertions are to a great extent supported 
by the testimony of a writer who has passed the 
better part of his life in Hindoostan, and who is 
by many regarded as the first existing authority on 
whatever relates to the customs and manners of the 
Hindoos. The Abbe Dubois, after delineating a 
magnificent picture of the knowledge and moral 
virtues of the ancient Brahmins, whose simple and 
innocent manners commanded the respect of both 
kings and people, observes, that, although the Brah¬ 
mins of the present day have altogether degenerated 
from the virtues of their ancestors, they still preserve 
a great deal of their character and habits, exhibiting 
“ a predilection for retirement, and seclusion from 
the bustle of the world, selecting for their residence 
villages quite retired, into which they permit no 

has also laboured, and we trust not without effect, to remove the 
erroneous ideas which prevail respecting the character and 
castes of the Hindoos; and Sir Alexander Johnston, an unpre¬ 
judiced and competent judge, bore testimony, in his examination 
before the House of Lords, to the correctness of his views. 
Report-from the Lords, July 8th, 1830, p. 136. 


348 


THE HINDOOS. 


person of any other caste to enter.” But the re¬ 
semblance does not stop here. “ They approach 
still nearer,” he continues, “to the manners of their 
ancestors, by their frequent fasts 2 , their daily ab¬ 
lutions, and the manner, nature, and subject of their 
sacrifices, and, above all, their scrupulous abstinence 
not only from meat, and all food that has ever had 
the principle of life, but also from many other pro¬ 
ductions of nature to which their prejudices and 
superstition have attached some idea of impurity 3 .” 

Again, describing the manners of the Sivai'tes, or 
worshippers of the Lingam, he remarks that “ in 
common with the Brahmins they will on no account 
partake of animal food, or of any thing that has 
enjoyed the principle of life, such as eggs, or ot 
many of the simple productions of nature 4 .’’ Of the 
Brahmins he elsewhere observes that milk is their 
principal article of food 5 ; “ but,” says he, speaking 
of their imaginary sins, “ the most striking example 
of the pains taken by the Brahmins to avoid internal 
defilement, is the abstinence from meat, which they 
all profess. This is to be understood not as relating 
to all living creatures merely, but to whatever has 
had the animating principle, such as eggs of all 
kinds, from which they are as much restricted as 
from flesh. They have also retrenched from their 
vegetable food, which is the great fund of their 
subsistence, all roots which form a head or bulb in 
the ground, such as onions ; and those also which 
assume the same shape above ground, like mush¬ 
rooms, and some others. Or are we to suppose that 
they had discovered something unwholesome in 
the one species, and proscribed the other on account 

2 “ Feasts” is the word in Dubois, but this is evidently a 
typographical error. 

Description, &c. p. 43. 

Ibid. p. 56. 5 Ibid. p. 104. 


FOOD. 


349 


of its fetid smell ? This I cannot decide; all the 
information I have ever obtained from those amongst 
them whom I have consulted on the reasons of their 
abstinence from them, being, that it is customary to 
avoid such articles, together with all those that have 
had the germ of the living principle. This is what 
is called in India, to eat becomingly. Such as use 
the prohibited articles cannot boast of their bodies 
being pure, according to the estimate of the Brah¬ 
mins 6 .” Nay, “ the habit they acquire, from their 
infancy,’’ continues the Abbt*, “ of never eating flesh, 
and the aversion instilled into them for this species 
of food, grows up into such a degree of horror, that 
the sight of any person using it would induce in many 
of them the reaction of the stomach.” 

If to the above we add the following passage, the 
testimony of this writer in favour of the views of 
Montesquieu and the Directors will be complete. 
“ This abstinence prevails not only among the Brah¬ 
mins, but, as we have often had occasion to mention, 
among the various castes who are desirous of con¬ 
ciliating public esteem, and who, being educated in 
this particular in the same prejudices, keep up an 
equal aversion to all sorts of animal food. They 
likewise preserve the same abhorrence of all liquors 
and drugs that intoxicate, and they would take it 
as the highest insult if it were proposed to them to 
taste any thing of that nature. An instance can 
hardly be found, in their settlements, of any trans¬ 
gression occurring amongst them, and among the 
Brahmins it is unheard of 7 .” He observes, however, 
in order to lessen the wonder of the thing, that it is 
no less easy for a Hindoo to abstain from flesh, 
than for a Jew or Mohammedan to eschew pork. 

The rulers of India are by no means reduced, 
however, to rely, for the maintenance of their po- 
6 Description, &c. p. 117. 7 Ibid. p. 167. 

VOL. I. 2 H 


350 


THE HINDOOS. 


sitions, upon the testimony of a single traveller. 
Forbes, who had likewise passed the better half 
of his life in the Company’s service, and there¬ 
fore possessed ample means of acquiring a know¬ 
ledge of the Hindoo people, remarks of the Brahmins 
that “ their simple diet consists of milk, rice, fruit, 
and vegetables ; they abstain from every thing that 
either had or could enjoy life, and use spices to 
flavour the rice, which is their principal food ; it is 
also enriched with ghee, or clarified butter. We 
cannot but admire the principle which dictates this 
humanity and self-denial : although did they through 
a microscope observe the animalculse which cover 
the mango, and compose the bloom of the fig, or 
perceive the animated myriads that swarm on every 
vegetable they eat, they must on their present sys¬ 
tem be at a loss for subsistence. Some of the 
Brahmins carry their austerities to such a length, 
as never to eat any thing but the grain that has 
passed through the cow, which being afterwards 
separated from its accompaniments, is considered by 
them as the purest of all food. In such veneration 
is this animal held by the Hindoos.” Elsewhere, 
speaking of the cow, he adds: “ A subject of Tra- 
vancore who is detected selling a bullock to an 
European is impaled alive! Religious prejudices 
operate powerfully in the preservation of this animal; 
but it is politic in a country where milk forms a great 
part of the food, and oxen are very useful in com¬ 
merce and agriculture 8 .” 

From all this it would appear to be established 
that the Hindoos, and more particularly the Brah¬ 
mins, religiously abstain from the use of animal food. 
In fact, this was asserted so late as the year 1830 in 
the House of Lords 9 . But the assertion must not be 

8 Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. p. 70, 71, 377. 

9 Report from the Lords, &c. July 8th, 1830, p. 44. 


FOOD. 


351 


taken literally. The Hindoos in general, whether of 
high' or low caste, do not subsist, as the Directors 
seem to imagine, upon rice, or abstain from animal 
food. Even among the Brahmins no such pious ab¬ 
stinence from every thing which has had the principle 
of life exists, or ever did exist. Persons of this sacred 
caste eat animal food, like their neighbours ; and if 
certain individuals, or certain sects among them, 
abstain, it is simply as a matter of taste, and not 
from any religious motive ; for both by their laws 
and their scriptures the flesh of animals is expressly 
permitted to be eaten 10 . There are Hindoos however, 
both Brahmins and others, who restrict themselves 
to a vegetable diet; and travellers, according to the 
good but not infallible old rule, “ ex pede Herculem,” 
have from this inferred that the whole nation were 
Pythagoraeans. Their opinions having once obtained 
currency, it is now, perhaps, too late to broach the 
truth, which will probably appear more paradoxical 
than the received fables. 

It has been seen that the AbbeS Dubois, whose 
age and experience should have protected him from 
palpable errors, most explicitly states that the Brah¬ 
mins, and the Sivaites generally, abstain from what¬ 
ever has contained the principle of life. Elsewhere, 
having observed that the Saiva Brahmins are in 
many places employed as servants in the temples, 
to wash the idols, bring up the offerings of fruit, 
flowers, incense, &c., he adds : “ In many pagodas 
the Sudras are employed in the same manner as 
sacrificers. This office is assigned to them, exclu¬ 
sively, in the temples where fowls, sheep, hogs, 
buffaloes, and other living creatures are immolated. 
It is probably by exercising -this kind of service in 
the temples, that the Saiva Brahmins have fallen 
into such contempt.’’ Again, in the same page, he 
10 See Institutes of Menu, chap. v. ver. 36, 56, &c. 


352 


THE HINDOOS, 


observes, “ I will say nothing of those who are called 
in derision Flesh Brahmins and Fish Brahmins. 
I have been assured that, in the north of India, 
and even on the Malabar coast, there are some of 
them v/no would eat of both, publicly, and without 
scruple. And it is added, that this conduct brings 
no reproach upon them from the Brahmins who 
abstain n .” The reason of which is, that it is thought 
a matter of no particular importance. In the south, 
however, he still maintains that the Brahmins are rice- 
eaters, and would expel their carnivorous brethren 
of the Upper Provinces from their society, should 
they venture south of the Krishna. He does not 
absolutely decide whether the Pythagoreans of the 
south, or the Sarcophagi of the north, are the more 
genuine representatives of the Brahmins of antiquity; 
but inclines for the former, “because the usages of 
the Brahmins, particularly as relating to abstinence 
from flesh meat, are less difficult in the observance 
in the warm countries of the south than they are 
in the cold or temperate regions of the north.” If 
the Brahminical creed had been invented in the south, 
and travelled northward, it would seem probable that, 
in expatriating themselves, and removing into a 
colder country, its followers might “ degenerate,” as 
the Abbd expresses it, “ from the rules of their early 
ancestors,” and become carnivorous from the effects 
of climate. But he agrees with us in considering 
Tartary, or the environs of Mount Caucasus, as the 
original natal soil of the Brahmins. In such a 
country, the use of animal food would be rendered 
almost necessary by the climate; and it therefore 
appears more probable that it is the southern rice- 
eaters who have degenerated from the rules of their 
early ancestors. 

11 Description of the Manners, &c. of the People of India 
p. 49. 


FOOD. 


353 


The sect of Vishnu composes, in Hindoostan, a 
very numerous body, and contains individuals of 
every caste, from the highest, including Brahmins, 
to the lowest. These sectarians, the Abbti Dubois 
informs us, belong to the carnivorous part of man¬ 
kind, of whom they by no means constitute the most 
abstemious members. “ The devotees of Vishnu, 
and particularly the religious beggars of that sect, 
are detested by the people in general, chiefly on 
account of their intemperance. One would imagine 
that they give themselves up to that vice from a 
spirit of contradiction to their opponents the Lin- 
gamites, whose extreme moderation in eating and 
drinking equals, if it does not surpass, that of the 
Brahmins, in imitation of whom they abstain from all 
animal food. The sectaries of Vishnu, on the contrary, 
eat publicly of all sorts of meat, excepting that of the 
cow, and drink toddy, arrack, and all other liquors that 
the country supplies, without shame or restraint 12 .” 

But the Vishnuites, if we credit the same authority, 
are not the only Hindoos who are guilty of intem¬ 
perance. “ The Brahmins, in general , add to their 
other numerous vices that of gluttony. When an 
opportunity occurs of satiating their appetite, they 
exceed all bounds of temperance: and such occa¬ 
sions,” it is added, “are frequent 13 .Not long 

ago,” says the Abbe, “ a fire broke out in a village of 
Tanjore, in the house of a Brahmin, the only individual 
of that caste who lived there. All the neighbours 
came running, and removed the effects which they 
found in the house. With other things they dis¬ 
covered a large jar filled with pickled pork, and 
another half full of arrack. If the accident of the 
fire afflicted the distressed Brahmin, the discovery 
made in the house was scarcely less overpowering. It 
was long kept up as a diverting joke by the inhabi- 
12 Description, &c. p. 53. 13 Ibid. p. 161. 

2 H 3 



354 


THE HINDOOS. 


tants of the village as well as of the neighbourhood, 
through all parts of which the story spread.” After 
all, however, this anecdote tells but little against the 
caste. We require more extensive evidence, and the 
Abbe is at hand to supply it. “ Transgressions of 
this kind,” he says, “are still more common in the 
great towns, where it is more easy to procure the 
proscribed articles, and to enjoy them without de¬ 
tection. I have been credibly informed that some 
Brahmins, in small companies, have gone very secretly 
to the houses of Sudras whom they could depend 
upon, to partake of meat and strong liquors, which 
they indulged in without scruple. I also know of 
instances where these same Sudras were permitted to 
sit down with them, and to join in the same secret 
abomination. The forbidden dishes which they used 
in common had been dressed by the Sudras, and 
to touch any food prepared by persons of another 
caste is a violation ot the rules of the Brahmins still 
more abhorred than that of eating with them in 
common 14 .” 

Intoxication, he observes, is still more common 
among the Brahmins than the use of interdicted 
food. Nevertheless, the great majority, we are told, 
abide religiously by the rules of their caste, abstain¬ 
ing from strong liquors, and other inebriating sub¬ 
stances, keeping up a perpetual fast, and touching 
“ nothing that belongs to animals, but milk.” There 
is some difficulty in comprehending how the Brah¬ 
mins u in general” contrive to be “ gluttons” at the 
same time that they keep up “a perpetual fast;” 
but let that pass. Proceed we to an anecdote of a 
fowl and mutton eating Brahmin, which is highly 
characteristic. The stomach of a Hindoo is supposed 
to be under the direction of his spiritual guide, who, 
in case of grave delinquency—for example, if he eat 
14 Description, &c. p. 168, 


FOOD. 


355 


a porcupine, a snake, or an onion—has the power to 
expel him from his caste. Latterly, it would seem, 
this power has been exercised rather tenderly, the 
number of offenders probably exceeding that of the 
rigid rice-eaters, or, at least, being so great as to 
make any exposure of their peccadilloes impolitic. 
“ Being at Dharmapuri, a small town in the Carnatic, 
while a Guru Brahmin was making his visitation of 
the district, one of the caste was accused before him 
of having openly violated the rules respecting food, 
and even of turning them publicly into ridicule. The 
accusation was as well founded as it was important. 
The culprit was brought up before the Guru, who 
had previously taken the evidence against him, and 
now decreed that he should be divested of the cord. 
At this awful moment the man, apparently unmoved 
under so grievous a punishment, advanced to the 
middle of the assembly where the Guru was seated; 
and after performing the sashtangam in the most 
respectful way, addressed his judge nearly in the 
following terms:— 

“ So you, with your council, have decided that I 
am to be divested of my cord. It will be no great 
loss to me. Two bits of silver will get me another. 
But I desire to know what your motive can be for 
degrading me in this public manner. Is it because 
I have eaten meat ? If that is the only reason, why 
does not the justice of a Guru, which ought to be 
impartial, extend.its severity alike over all offenders? 
Why should I be the only person accused out of so 
great a number of delinquents? I look on one side, 
and there I see two or three of my accusers, with 
whom I joined not long ago in devouring a good 
leg of mutton. Here, on the other side, I turn my 
eyes and I see some more of them, with whom 1 
dined the other day, at the house of a Sudra, where 
we cut up an excellent pullet. Allow me only to give 


356 


THE HINDOOS. 


their names; and I will also accuse many others 
whose consciousness has detained them from appear¬ 
ing at this assembly. But if you will allow me I 
will instantly bring testimony of the facts and justify 
my accusation.” The Guru was evidently puzzled 
how to proceed, after a discourse on so delicate a 
subject, and delivered with so much intrepidity. But 
recovering himself, he cried out with much presence 
of mind: “ Who has brought this prattler hither ? 
Don’t you see the fellow is mad? turn him out, and 
let us be no longer tormented with his nonsense 19 .” 
And in this happy way the Guru extricated himself 
from considerable embarrassment. 

One reason for abstaining, in very warm countries, 
from animal food, is that the persons of those who 
eat it exhale a fetid odour, perceptible to the fine 
sense of smelling of a Pythagoreean, twenty-four 
hours after the meal. Upon this fact, no doubt, is 
founded that curious distinction, noticed by Dubois 18 , 
with regard to abstinence from this kind of aliment, 
which prevails among certain castes, where the men 
indulge in, while the women reject it. Simplicity of 
food greatly increases the delicacy and fragrance of 
the person, as may be observed in children, which, 
when taken from the breast, always lose a portion of 
that fine transparent complexion and inexpressible 
sweetness both of breath and person which distin¬ 
guish them in the early morning of their days. 

But the most powerful reason why the Hindoos 
in many cases actually do abstain from the flesh of 
animals, is one which would be thought valid in most 
countries: they are too poor to procure it. “ In 
general, they eat nothing but seeds, or such insipid 
matters; for, though most of them cultivate rice, 
which appears to be a production of nature in the 
highest degree suited to the use of man, and well 
15 Description, &c. p. 169, 179. 16 Description, &c. p. 119. 


FOOD. 


357 


adapted to sustain his vigour, the mass of the people 
do not use it for their ordinary fare. They are obliged 
to sell it to get what is necessary for paying their 
taxes, to procure clothes, and supply their other 
domestic wants. After disposing of their crop of 
rice, they nourish themselves for the rest of the year 
in the best way they are able, upon the various sorts 
of small seeds, similar to what are given in Europe to 
pigs and chickens: and it were to be wished that 
every Hindoo had even this sorry fare at his com¬ 
mand 17 .” 

If there be in India any one tribe or caste more 
noble, high-minded, and uncontaminated than the 
rest, it is that of the Kshatriyas, or Rajpoots. Yet 
these are eminently carnivorous. When not engaged 
in war, which they regard as their profession, they 
usually, at the proper season of the year, devote a 
large portion of their time to the pleasures of the 
chace. Among the larger game, the most common 
is the wild boar. Of the flesh of this animal they 
appear to be particularly fond; and they pursue it 
with the utmost ardour. But the covers atforded by 
the nature of their country, especially the fields of 
maize, which there grows to the height of ten or 
twelve feet, not unfrequently affords the boar a chance 
of escape. In the barren plains of Marwar, maize 
porridge is the common fare; but in Mewar, the 
paradise of the Rajpoot, the luxury of wheaten bread 
is well understood. Maize and Indian corn, gathered 
in an unripe state, are tied into bundles, roasted in 
the ear, and eaten with a little salt. For the intro¬ 
duction of melons and grapes, which at present form 
the principal dessert of the Hindoos, India is indebted 
to the Emperor Baber, the most ingenuous and 
chivalrous of Eastern conquerors. Tobacco was in¬ 
troduced by his grandson Jehangir. When or by 
Dubois, p. 201, 202, 


358 


THE HINDOOS. 


whom the use of opium was made known to the Raj¬ 
poots is not known; but “this pernicious plant,” 
says an acute observer, “ has robbed the Rajpoot of 
half his virtues.” Under the influence of opium his 
natural bravery often degenerates into ferocity, while 
his countenance, when he is not thus excited, has an 
air of drowsy imbecility. 

From the earliest ages the soldiers of Hindoo- 
stan, like those of most other countries, have been 
addicted to intoxicating drinks; but these, though 
still in favour, are secondary in importance to the 
opiate. “To eat opium together, is the most in¬ 
violable pledge, and an agreement ratified by this 
ceremony is stronger than any adjuration. If a Raj¬ 
poot pays a visit, the first question is, umul kya ? 
4 have you had your opiate ?’—umul kao, ‘ take your 
opiate.’ On a birth-day, when all the chiefs convene 
to congratulate their brother on another knot to his 
years, the large cup is brought forth, a lump of 
opium put therein, upon which water is poured, and 
by the aid of a stick a solution is made, to which 
each helps his neighbour, not with a glass, but with 
the hollow of his hand held to his mouth. To judge 
by the wry faces on this occasion, none can like it, 
and to get rid of the nauseous taste, comfit balls are 
handed round. It is curious to observe the animation 
it inspires; a Rajpoot is fit for nothing without his 
umul , and I have often dismissed their men of busi¬ 
ness to refresh their intellects by a dose, for when its 
effects are dissipating they become mere logs. Opium 
to the Rajpoot is more necessary than food 1 V' 

Scarcely any kind of animal food is rejected by the 
Rajpoot, excepting such as by all civilized nations 
has been accounted unclean. His game consists of 
the hare, the deer, the boar, the elk, the buffalo; and 
of the wild-dog, the hyaena, the wolf, and the tiger ; 

18 Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 644, 645. 


FOOD. 


359 


of which, the latter class are destroyed as noxious. 
The votaries of Caniya y who have taken refuge in 
his sanctuary at Nat’hdwara, confine themselves, in 
penance, to a vegetable diet, which consists of dried 
fruits, spices, and curd, which, however, in these 
degenerate days, are seasoned with rose-water, amber, 
and all the aromatics of the East. When entertain¬ 
ing Europeans, the Rajpoots, fearful that their dishes 
may not be suited to the palates of their guests, some¬ 
times request them to bring along with them their 
cuisine. A.n example of this occurred to Colonel 
Tod at Jodpoor. Having been invited to dinner by 
the Rajah, the prince added to the invitation the 
above curious request, as he feared that the fare of the 
dessert might prove unpalatable. “ But this,’’ says 
the traveller, “ I had often seen done in Sindia’s 
camp, where joints of mutton, fowls, and fricassees 
would diversify the provender of the Mahratta. I 
intimated that we had no apprehension that we should 
not do justice to the gastronomy of Jodpoor; how¬ 
ever we sent our tables, and some claret to drink long 
life to the King of Maroodes. Having paid our 
respects to our host, he dismissed us, with the com¬ 
plimentary wish that appetite might wait upon us, 
and, preceded by a host of gold and silver sticks, we 
were ushered into a hall, where we found the table 
literally covered with curries, pillous, and ragouts of 
every kind, in which was not forgotten, the hari 
moong Mundore ra, ‘ the green pulse of Mundore,’ 
the favourite dish next to rabri or maize-porridge of 
the simple Rahtore. Here, however, we saw dis¬ 
played the dishes of both the Hindoo and Musulmari, 
and nearly all were served in silver. The curries 
were excellent, especially those of the vegetable 
tribes made of the pulses, the kakris or cucumbers, 
and of a miniature melon, not larger than an egg, 
which grows spontaneously in these regions, and is 


360 


THE HINDOOS. 


transported by kasids or runners, as presents, for 
many hundred miles round 19 .” 

Fruit, as might be expected from its plenty and 
cheapness, enters largely into the food of the Hin¬ 
doos 20 . Their groves and gardens supply an abundance 
of guavas, plantains, bananas, custard-apples, tama¬ 
rinds, oranges, limes, citrons, grapes, pine-apples, 
and pomegranates. But of all the fruits of India 
the best as well as the most plentiful is the mango, 
which is found in all parts of the country, even in 
the forests. The tree which produces it, equal in 
size to a large English oak, in foliage and appearance 
more nearly resembles the Spanish chesnut. The 
superior kinds of mango are extremely delicious, 
being not unlike the large yellow Venice peach, 
heightened by the flavour of the orange and anana. 
During the residence of Forbes in Guzerat, six hun¬ 
dred pounds weight of this fruit was sold for a rupee. 
It accordingly formed, in the mango season, the 
principal diet of the poor, and was supposed to be 
very nutritious. The Chili pepper 21 , and the carda¬ 
mom, a pleasant spice from the Malabar coast, form 
a principal ingredient in curries. 

The Hindoos are particularly fond of wild honey, 
which is found in the clefts of the rocks, in caverns, 
and on the summits of scarped rugged mountains. 
Of fish likewise, whether fresh or salted, they con¬ 
stantly make use. Whole tribes of men subsist by 
catching them, and they are conveyed in vast quanti¬ 
ties into the interior. Many natives of Concan are 
addicted to the chace, and eat the flesh of deer, 
hares, quails, partridges, and pigeons 22 . The Chensu , 
a tribe inhabiting the hilly country above Malabar, 

19 Annals of Rajast’han. vol. i. p. 732 
80 Ibid, p, 267, 278, 516, 565, 644, 662, 732. 

2 - Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. p. 29, 30, 32 
22 Ibid. p. 53, 84, 197. 


FOOD. 


361 


destroy and kill all kinds of game. The Telinga 
Banijigaru , who are worshippers of Vishnu, and are 
all either merchants, farmers, or porters, eat sheep, 
goats, hogs, fowls, and fish, and, though prohibited 
the use of spirituous liquors, may intoxicate them¬ 
selves with bang. The Madigas , who dress hides, 
make shoes, or cultivate the ground, eat not only all 
kinds of animal food, but even carrion ; and openly 
drink spirituous liquors. The Ruddi , a very respec¬ 
table caste of Sudras, chiefly employed in agriculture, 
eat hogs, sheep, goats, venison, and fowls ; and are 
permitted the use of bang. Buchanan observes, in 
speaking of this tribe, that to consider the Kshatriyas 
as the military caste seems to be an error; because 
the Ruddi, as well as all other Sudras engaged in 
agriculture, have always formed a part of the native 
foot militia, which seems to have been established 
throughout India. In the armies of native princes 
they likewise composed the most considerable body 

The Palliwanluy a tribe of Tamul extraction, who 
are either farmers or gardeners, both eat animal 
food and drink spirituous liquors. Mutton and fish 
may lawfully be eaten by the Muchaveru, or shoe¬ 
makers, who, contrary to the practice of persons of 
this caste in Europe, are expected to abstain from 
spirituous liquors. To make up in some measure 
for this extraordinary prohibition they are permitted 
to marry as many wives as they please. Exactly 
the same thing may be predicated of the Telingana 
Uparu, whose proper occupation, as fixed by their 
legislators, is building mud walls, particularly of 
forts ; but as neither huts nor mud forts are suffi¬ 
ciently in request, o employ the whole caste, they 
have taken the liberty to set aside the rules esta¬ 
blished by the wisdom of their ancestors, and are 
now engaged in agriculture and other pursuits. The 

VOL. i. 2 i 


362 


THE HINDOOS. 


Wully Tigulas , another Tamul tribe ; the Teliga 
Devangas, of the sect of Siva; the Baydaru , who 
are soldiers and hunters, likewise of the sect of Siva; 
the Curubas , soldiers and cultivators; and the Ca¬ 
nard Devangas , all eat animal food, and, in many 
instances, drink spirituous liquors 23 . The tastes of 
the Niadis, an outcast tribe of Malabar, are ex¬ 
tremely peculiar. They refuse to perform any kind 
of labour, and consequently are plunged in the 
deepest poverty. Unable to catch fish or kill game, 
they subsist upon wild roots, and whatever they can get 
by begging; but are occasionally fortunate enough 
to kill a tortoise, or hook a crocodile, the flesh of 
which, like the Nubians, they reckon delicious food. 
The Bacadaru , a tribe of Carnata origin, now sunk 
into slavery, not only eat animal food, but, to borrow 
the expressive language of Buchanan, “ may law¬ 
fully intoxicate themselvesan advantage which, 
we find, is denied to the cobblers. 

The Pariahs , who, as we have already observed, 
amount to about thirty millions of souls, do not ab- 

23 Buchanan, Journey through the Mysore, &c. vol. i. p. 
169, 242,243, 252,254, 258, 261, 303, 304, 339,353, 358,396, 
420. To avoid the repetition of the same thing in the text, 
we will here enumerate the other castes of southern India, 
who are commonly known to make use of animal food. The 
Goalas , or shepherds, vol. ii. p. 13. The Bestas, farmers and 
lime-burners, 25. The Mysore farmers, 88. The Curubaru, 
who eat every thing but beef, even carrion, 127, 129. 
The Naimars, or Nairs, who, although properly Vishnuites, 
wear the mark of Siva, 410 — 412. The Tiars, 416. The 
Mogayer, or fishermen, vol. iii. 22. The Biluaras , who extract 
the juice from the palm tree, 53; The Corar, 100. This caste 
may lawfully eat tigers, but reject dogs and snakes, p. 101. 
The Handi Curubas , 336. It would not be difficult to extend 
this list, but the above specimens will suffice; particularly as 
all these tribes inhabit the Peninsula, where, according to Sir 
Alexander Johnston, the customs and manners of the Hindoos 
subsist in the greatest purity. 


FOOD. 


363 


stain even from beef. They possibly form a portion 
of the aboriginal population, who, refusing, on the 
rise of Brahminism, to adopt the prejudices of the 
new sect, were anathematized and excommunicated 
by those revengeful priests. Forbes himself, when 
experience had removed the prejudices he had brought 
out with him from Europe, discovered that many 
of the Bengal Brahmins eat fish, and several sorts 
of animal food; and that they are not only allowed 
them, but at some particular ceremonies they are 
enjoined to do so. However, he observes, that in 
Guzerat a different practice prevails. But the 
Mahrattas, though all Hindoos, and “ the lower 
classes especially, eat of almost every thing that 
comes in their way; as mutton, goat, wild hogs 
game, and fish. Major Moor mentions two places 
by name where the Mahrattas eat beef \ and permit 
cattle to be killed, and publicly exposed to sale 24 .” 
He then adds :—“ The lower tribes of Hindoos are 
not so scrupulous as the higher about what they 
eat, or what they touch ; especially if they are not 
observed by others. When at a distance from their 

24 Forbes tells a story illustrative of the scruples of the 
lower Hindoos which is too good to be omitted: “I knew a 
gentleman,” he says, “ who having formed a party for a little 
excursion into the country, provided a round of beef, as a 
principal dish in the cold collation: as he was going on 
horseback he desired the beef might be covered with a cloth, 
and put into his palanquin to keep it cool; the bearers refused 
to carry a vehicle which contained such a pollution. The 
gentleman, on finding that neither remonstrances, entreaties, 
or threats, were of any avail, cut off a slice of the meat, and 
eating it in their presence, desired them to carry him to the 
place of rendezvous. This produced the desired effect; the 
bearers were the first to laugh at their folly, and exclaimed, 

‘ Master come wise man, with two eyes; while poor black man 
come very foolish, with only one and taking up the palan¬ 
quin with the beef, set off towards the tents in great good 
humour.” Vol. i. p. 2; ii.139. 


364 


THE HINDOOS, 


families, and out of sight of their priests, many 
divest themselves of these nice ideas of purity. Those 
domesticated with Europeans generally affect to he 
very scrupulous; an English table covered with a 
variety of food is necessarily surrounded by a num¬ 
ber of servants of different castes to attend the 
guests. At Baroche, Surat, and Bombay, a Hindoo 
will not remove a dish that has been defiled with 
beef, a Mohammedan cannot touch a plate polluted 
by pork, nor will a Parsee take one away on which 
is hare or rabbit. I never knew more than one 
Parsee servant who would snuff a candle, from a 
fear of extinguishing the symbol of the deity he wor¬ 
ships, nor would this man ever do it in the presence 
of another Parsee 25 .” 

It was probably from their attendants, who af¬ 
fected all this scrupulousness, that our older English 
travellers acquired their erroneous ideas respecting 
the food and habits of the Hindoos. Their errors, 
however, have been widely diffused, and would still 
appear to be but too deeply rooted in the general 
mind, since even so learned and reflecting a man as 
Heber was not, as he himself observes, emancipated 
from their influence, until by his own experience in 
the country he had discovered how destitute of foun¬ 
dation they were. “ I had always heard,” he re¬ 
marks, “ and fully believed till I came to India, that 
it was a grievous crime, in the opinion of the Brah¬ 
mins, to eat the flesh or shed the blood of any living 
creature whatever 26 /’ But he had not sailed up the 
Ganges to Calcutta before he found himself com¬ 
pelled to abandon this belief. Among the merchant 
ships and Maidive boats, which crowded the Hoo¬ 
gly. and seemed to reproduce the naval activity of 
the Thames, he saw the little barks of numerous 

25 Oriental Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 138. 

26 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. iii. p. 347, 8vo. edit. 


FOOD. 


365 


fishermen, who were employed in catering’ for the 
appetites of their wealthy countrymen. Brahmins as 
well as others. Fish, our traveller now found, “ is 
considered as one of the purest and most lawful 
kinds of food. Nothing, indeed, seems more gene¬ 
rally mistaken than the supposed prohibition of 
animal food to the Hindoos. Thus many Brah¬ 
mins eat both fish and kid. The Rajpoots, besides 
these, eat mutton, venison, or goat’s flesh. Some 
castes may eat any thing but fowls, beef, or pork; 
while pork is with others a favourite diet, and beef 
only is prohibited.” . He then adds, that though in¬ 
toxicating liquors are by their religion forbidden to 
the Hindoos, the prohibition is very generally dis¬ 
regarded by persons of all ranks 27 . Afterwards, in 
his voyage up the Ganges toward Benares, he 
always found his Hindoo attendants ready enough 
to make use of the fish which he good-naturedly 
bestowed upon them 28 . Many Brahmins, he was, 
moreover, informed by Mr. Warner, magistrate of 
the Furreedpoor districts, were addicted to intoxica¬ 
tion, and were found among the Decoits , the most 
atrocious of all banditti 29 . 

In proportion as the experience of this able and 
unprejudiced traveller increased, the stronger be¬ 
came the conviction that the notions usually enter- 

27 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. i. p. 9. He seems, 
however, to have considered the seapoys generally as sober 
water-drinkers, vol. ii. p. 202. 

28 Id. p. 134. “ I saw here,” says he, “ a succession of 
baskets opening out of one another, like traps, or rather on the 
principle of the eel-net in England, for catching fish, which, 
once entered, cannot conveniently turn round, and therefore 
go on to a chamber contrived at the end, the entrance to which 
is guarded with sharp reeds pointing inwards, like a mouse¬ 
trap. ” Vol. i. p. 237, 238. See, on this subject of flesh and 
fish-eating, &c. vol. ii. p. Ill, 117, 208, 466. 

29 Narrative, &c. vol. i. p. 217. 


2 1 


366 


THE HINDOOS. 


tained in Europe respecting’ the Pythagoraean habits 
of the Brahmins and Hindoos in general were wholly 
unfounded. “ You may be, perhaps, as much sur¬ 
prised as I was,” he observes, writing to a friend, 
“ to find that those who can afford it are hardly less 
carnivorous than ourselves; that even the purest 
Brahmins are allowed to eat mutton and venison.” 
And again, in another letter to a friend, he adds, 
“ I have now myself seen Brahmins of the highest 
caste cut off the heads of goats as a sacrifice to 
Durga (Bhavani) ; and I know from the testimony 
of Brahmins, as well as from other sources, that not 
only hecatombs of animals are offered in this man¬ 
ner as a meritorious act (a Rajah about twenty-five 
years back offered sixty thousand in one fortnight), 
but that any person, Brahmins not excepted, eats 
readily of the flesh of whatever has been offered up 
to one of their divinities, while among almost all the 
other castes, mutton, pork, venison, fish, any thing 
but beef and fowls, are consumed as readily as in 
Europe 30 .” 

Herodotus, whose errors, as they are termed, the 
gnorant and superficial are so fond of dwelling 
upon, had heard a rumour that there were cannibals 
in India, who were said to eat even the bodies of 
their parents. To persons unacquainted with the 
excesses into which superstition has hurried men, in 
all ages and countries, this report necessarily ap¬ 
peared fabulous; and the Calanticp and the Padcei 
were supposed never to have existed, except in the 
fertile imagination of the Greek historian. We find, 
however, the charge of cannibalism renewed by a 
modern author of considerable reputation. “ Not 
only do the Hindoos, even the Brahmins, eat flesh ; 
but they eat (one sect at least) human flesh. They 
do not, I conclude, kill human subjects to eat, but they 
30 Narrative, &c. vol. iii. p. 251, 277, 347. 


FOOD. 


367 


eat such as they find in or about the Ganges, and 
perhaps other rivers. The name of the sect is 
Paramahansa; and I have received authentic infor¬ 
mation of individuals of this sect being not very un¬ 
usually seen about Benares, floating down the river 
on, and feeding on a corpse 31 . Nor is this a low 
despicable tribe; but on the contrary, esteemed by 
themselves at least, as a very high one; and my in¬ 
formation stated that the human brain is judged by 
these epicurean cannibals as the most delicious 
morsel of their unsocial banquet. It may be difficult 
for the English reader to believe this hitherto un¬ 
recorded story of these flesh-abhorring Hindoos, as 
well perhaps as the now fully authenticated facts of 
their prodigality of human life. Anecdotes to a 
considerable extent might easily be collected of the 
sanguinary propensity of these people, such as would 
startle those who have imbibed certain opinions from 
the relations of travellers, on the character and 
habits of the abstinent and flesh-abhorring Hindoos, 
and Brahmins with souls as unspotted as the robes 
they wear 32 .” 

31 Whether or not a putrid corpse may thus be transformed 
into a canoe, we must leave to natural philosophers to deter¬ 
mine. It were to be wished, however, that Major Moor had 
himself witnessed the phenomenon; for, if properly authenti¬ 
cated, it would be among the most extraordinary examples of 
the depravity of human taste that have ever been described 
by travellers. 

32 Moor’s Hindoo Pantheon, ap. Forbes, vol. i. p. 398,399. 
To complete this horrid picture, we copy from Forbes an anec¬ 
dote which may well keep in countenance Bruce’s description 
of an Abyssinian banquet. “ It is well known,” says this 
traveller, “ that in some of the districts near Bengal, there is a 
tribe of people called Sheep-eaters, who seize the animal alive, 
and actually devour wool, skin, flesh, and entrails, until nothing 
remains but the skeleton. Lady Anstruther, who made a 
valuable collection of drawings during her residence in India, 
has a set of paintings in water colours, done by a native, 
which contains the whole process of these extraordinary glut- 


363 


THE HINDOOS. 


Among all these cannibals and carnivorous people, 
however, there are undoubtedly many Brahmins 
and others who rigidly abstain from all kinds of 
animal food. Nevertheless their aliments are suffi¬ 
ciently varied. The feast of one of these vegetable 
Brahmins generally consists of seasoned bread, rice, 
curry, vegetables, pickles, and a dessert. Their 
ordinary bread is prepared from the flour of wheat, 
juari, or bajera. To this they are fond of adding a 
thin cake or wafer, “ made from the flour of oord , 
highly seasoned with assafoetida; a salt called 
popper-ichor; and a very hot massaula, composed of 
turmeric, black pepper, ginger, garlic, several kinds 
of warm seeds, and a quantity of the hottest Chili 
pepper” All these ingredients are kneaded toge¬ 
ther with the oord-flour and water into a tenacious 
paste, which is then rolled into cakes thin as a wafer, 
which, having been first dried a little in the sun, are 
then baked, like the oaten cakes of the Scotch, until 
they are quite crisp. The Brahmini curry is gene¬ 
rally nothing more than warm buttermilk, thickened 
with grain-flour, and slightly seasoned with spices. 
Another of their favourite dishes is composed of a 
sort of split pea, boiled with salt and turmeric, and 
eaten with ghee, or clarified butter. “ When the 
dinner is prepared the Brahmin first washes his 
body in warm water, during which operation he 
wears his dotee , or that cloth which, fastened round 
his loins, hangs down to his ancles: when washed, 
he hangs up the dotee to dry, and binds in its place 

tons, from the first seizure of the unfortunate animal, until it 
is completely devoured.” Vol. i. p. 400. A lithographic 
sketch, made after a similar set of paintings, of a sheep-eater 
in the various stages of his disgusting meal, is published in 
the third volume of the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic 
Society, accompanied with a brief memoir by General liard- 
wicke. 


FOOD. 


369 


a piece of silk, it not being allowable for a Brahmin 
to wear any thing else when eating. If a person of 
another caste, or even a Brahmin who is not washed, 
touches his dotee while drying, he cannot wear it 
without washing it again. After going through 
several forms of prayer and other ceremonies, he 
sits down to his food, which is spread on a table¬ 
cloth, or rather a table-cover, formed of fresh 
gathered leaves, fastened together to the size wanted 
for the company. The dishes and plates are inva¬ 
riably composed of leaves; a Brahmin may not eat 
out of any thing else. Tin vessels, or copper tinned, 
may be used for cooking ; but a Brahmin cannot eat 
out of them. The food, after being prepared in the 
kitchen, is placed in distinct portions, on dishes of 
different size, form, and depth, on the large verdant 
covering in a regular manner. In the centre of the 
cover is always a large pile of plain boiled rice, and 
at a feast there are generally two other heaps of 
white and yellow rice, seasoned with spices and salt; 
and two of sweet rice, to be eaten with chatna , 
pickles, and stewed vegetables: the latter are chiefly 
berenjals, bendre turoy, and different kinds of beans, 
all savourily dressed, and heated with chilies of 
every description. The chatna is usually made 
from a vegetable called cotemear , to the eye very 
much resembling parsley, but to those unused to it, 
of a very disagreeable taste and smell: this is so 
strongly heated with chilies, as to render the other 
ingredients less distinguishable. The chatna is 
sometimes made with cocoa-nut, lime-juice, garlic, 
and chilies, and, with the pickles, is placed in deep 
leaves round the large cover, to the number of thirty 
or forty, the Hindoos being very fond of this stimu¬ 
lus to their rice. These pickles are not prepared 
with vinegar, but preserved in oil and salt, seasoned 
with chilie and the acid of tamarinds, which in a 


370 


THE HINDOOS. 


salted state is much used in Hindoostan. Brahmins 
and many other Hindoos reject the onion from their 
bill of fare. Ghee, which, in deep boats formed of 
leaves, seems to constitute the essence of the dinner, 
is plentifully dispensed. The dessert consists of 
mangoes, preserved with sugar, ginger, limes, and 
other sweatmeats; syrup of different fruits, and 
sometimes a little ripe fruit; but the dessert is not 
common. Such is the entertainment of a rich Brah¬ 
min who eats no animal food 33 .” 

The poor, whose means will not allow them to 
think of animal food, consider themselves fortunate 
when they can command a little rice, with a few 
wild herbs gathered in the fields. Others are com¬ 
pelled to content themselves with the seed of the 
bamboo, or such small, insipid, innutritive grain as 
are cheap and plentiful. It is probable, though 
there is no positive testimony to the fact, that the 
lotus-seed is sometimes eaten. Vetches are esteemed 
a great delicacy ; as also*are'cakes fried in cocoa-nut 
oil. The Hindoo uses the right hand only in eat¬ 
ing. The use of knives, forks, spoons, &c., he ab¬ 
jures as an abomination ; he drinks out of a brass 
cup, or from the hollow of his hand ; but is always 
careful that the vessel, when any is used, does not 
touch his lips. This peculiarity of manners was 
noticed by the Portuguese, in the first voyage of 
Vasco de Gama. After the collation which was 
served up to them at the palace of the Zamorin, and 
which consisted ofUgs, jakas, &e., water was brought 
in in a golden cup. The Portuguese, who had been 
informed what was required by etiquette, endea¬ 
voured to conform to the mode; but being unused 
to drink in this manner, they either overcharged 
their throats, which made them cough, or pouring 
the liquor on one side, wet their clothes, and set 
33 Oriental Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 49—51. 


FOOD. 


371 


the whole court in a roar of laughter 34 . The times 
fixed by the S&stras for eating are, one o’clock in 
the morning, and two in the afternoon; but these 
irregular hours are not observed. 

Having examined the principal modern autho¬ 
rities respecting the food of the Hindoos, it remains 
to notice the directions of their celebrated lawgiver 
on this contested subject. It has been doubted 
whether the Hindoos had any thing answering to 
our “ grace” before meals. Menu commands it ex¬ 
pressly. “ Let him honour all his food, and eat it 
without contempt; when he sees it, let him rejoice, 
and be calm, and pray that he may always obtain 
it 35 .’’ The food of hermits, he informs us, consisted 
of wild grain and milk. He then enumerates the 
articles of which the offerings to the manes of de¬ 
ceased ancestors should consist, and which, when 
the ceremony had been duly performed, were eaten 
by the Brahmin and his guests: these were fish, 
venison, mutton, “ the flesh of such birds as the 
twice-born may eatkids, spotted deer, the ante¬ 
lope called ena> the ruru , wild boars, wild buffaloes, 
rabbits, hares, tortoises, cow’s milk, the flesh of the 
long-eared white goat, and the flesh of the rhino¬ 
ceros 36 . Brahmins are also by law permitted the 
use of perfume; but so long as its “ unctuosity” 
remains on their body they are forbidden to read 
the Vedas. What makes it perfectly evident that it 
was superstition, not humanity, that dictated the 
abstinence of the twice-born from the flesh of the 
cow 37 , and certain other animals, is this, that garlic, 

14 Knox’s Collection of Voyages and Travels, 8vo. vol. ii. 
p. 324; Ward, vol. i. p. 199, 200; Dubois, p. 112, 115; 
Forbes, vol. iii. p. 275. 

85 Institutes, &c. ch. ii. ver. 54. 

83 Ibid. ch. iii. ver. 268-272. 

37 It is clear from the Sama Veda , that anciently even the 


372 


THE HINDOOS. 


onions, leeks, mushrooms, all vegetables raised in 
dung, red greens or raisins, exuding from trees, and 
rice-pudding boiled with tila (oil made of sesamum 
seeds), are equally prohibited. “ Flesh-meat also, 
the food of gods, and clarified butter” (which are 
clearly put upon a level), were allowed to be eaten 
only when grace had been said over them, or as 
Menu expresses it, “ touched, while holy texts were 
recited.” The Brahmin is directed, however, to 
abstain from the flesh of wild beasts and carnivorous 
birds, meat kept at a slaughter-house, and dried 
meat. But “ beasts and birds of excellent sorts may 
be slain by Brahmins for sacrifice, or for the suste¬ 
nance of those whom they are bound to support; since 
Agastya did this of old.” The legislator then adds : 
“ For the sustenance of the vital spirit, Brahma 
created all this animal and vegetable system ; and all 
that is moveable or immoveable that spirit devours. 
Things fixed are eaten by creatures with locomotion ; 
toothless animals, by animals with teeth ; those with¬ 
out hands, by those to whom hands were given; and 
the timid by the bold. He who eats according to law 
commits no sin, even though every day he taste the 
flesh of such animals as may lawfully be tasted ; 
since both animals who may be eaten, and those 
who eat them, were equally created by Brahma.” 
Nay, not only is the eating of animal food per- 

cow was killed and eaten like other animals, particularly on 
the arrival of a guest, who was thence denominated Goghna, 
or, “ the cow-killer.” In compliance with ancient custom the 
cow is still brought in and tied ; but the guest intercedes for 
her; a barber, who attends for that purpose, as if the animal 
were to be shaved, sets her loose, and the guest, addressing 
the animal, exclaims, “ I have earnestly entreated this pru¬ 
dent person, saying, kill not the innocent harmless cow, who 
is mother of Rudras , daughter of Fasus, sister of Adityas, 
and the source of ambrosia.” Colebrooke, Essay 3, on the 
Religious Ceremonies of the Hindoos; Asiat. Res. vol. vii. 
p. 288—293. 


STATURE. 


373 


mitted, it is enjoined, and the abstaining from it, on 
proper occasions, is denounced as a heinous sin : 
“ the man who, engaged in holy rites according to 
law, refuses to eat it, shall sink in another world, 
for twenty-one births, to the state of a beast 38 .” 

The physiognomy and stature of the Hindoos 
have, says Sir William Jones, been described with 
great exactness and picturesque elegance by Lord, 
in his rare but valuable work. “ A people,” he says, 
“ presented themselves to mine eyes, clothed in 
linen garments somewhat low descending, of a ges¬ 
ture and garb, as I may say, maidenly and well nigh 
effeminate, of a countenance shy and somewhat 
estranged, yet smiling out a glozed and bashful 
familiarity.” This brief description, however, con¬ 
veys but an imperfect idea of the Hindoos. Their 
stature, complexion, physiognomy, like their cha¬ 
racter, differ so exceedingly in different parts of the 
country, that in fact no general picture can possibly 
suit the various dissimilar races which compose the 
people whom we call Hindoos. Among the Raj¬ 
poots and mountaineers of the north are frequently 
found men of gigantic stature and Herculean pro¬ 
portions, who would be considered remarkable in 
any country in Europe for their size and muscular 
power 39 . In general, the inhabitants of the plain 
are inferior in height, and of a more slender make; 
but both the latter and the former are of an agile, 
graceful form, and capable of enduring considerable 
fatigue. Few deformed persons are seen. But, 
from various causes, blindness is not uncommon. 

38 Institutes of Menu, chap. v. ver. 5—35. 

39 tf Gokul Das, the last chief (of Deoghur), was one of the 
finest men I ever beheld in feature and person. He was 
about six feet six, perfectly erect, and a Hercules in bulk 
His father at twenty was much larger, and must have been 
nearly seven feet high.'’ Colonel Tod, Annals, &c. p. 191. 

VOL. I. 2 K 


374 


THE HINDOOS. 


The complexion of the Hindoos, according to climate 
and circumstances, varies from a dark olive, ap¬ 
proaching to black, to a light, transparent, beautiful 
brown, with still an olive tinge, resembling that of 
the natives of northern Italy or Provence. The 
Pariahs are said, by some writers, to be dark, while 
the Brahmins are fair; and they have a proverb 
which says,—“ Never trust a black Brahmin, or a 
white Pariah;” but the rule by no means holds 
generally, many persons of low caste, and numerous 
wild mountain hordes, being much fairer than their 
superiors. 

The Hindoos seldom betray in their countenances 
the fiery passions which are at work within. Their 
look is calm, placid, prepossessing; with nothing of 
the sinister aspect of the Malay or the impassioned 
expression of the Persians or Arabs. The face of 
the Hindoo is oval; his forehead moderately large 
and high; his eyes and hair are black; though men¬ 
tion is made in the Institutes of Menu of women with 
reddish hair. His eyebrows are finely turned, and 
his nose and mouth of an European cast. The wo¬ 
men, whemnot exposed to the air, or stunted by severe 
labour, are often possessed of extraordinary beauty. 
“ Their forms are delicate and graceful; their limbs 
finely tapered and rounded; their features mild ; their 
eyes dark and languishing; their hair fine and long; 
their complexions glowing as if they were radiant; 
and their skins remarkably polished and soft 40 .” Of 
all the Hindoo women those of the Brahminical caste 
seem to bear away the palm of loveliness, more par¬ 
ticularly those of the Canara and Malabar coasts, 
who might perhaps sustain no disadvantageous com- 

40 Picture of India, vol. ii. p. 307. The author has here 
used, with taste and judgment, the materials furnished by 
Forbes andOrme, and therefore we have not scrupled to borrow 
his language. See Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. p. 73. 


STATURE. 


375 


parison with the women of Georgia and Circassia. 
Whatever may be the case with the other females of 
their nation, these, at least, are susceptible and highly 
impassioned. Love is the sole delight they know. 
Their constant ablutions, their delicate care of their 
persons, their perfumes, their dress, their rich elegant 
ornaments, render them objects of desire; and the 
warmth of their feelings, which has been frequently 
remarked, confers durability on the affections they 
inspire. The beauties of form attributed to their coun¬ 
trywomen in general are found in a still higher degree 
of perfection in them. The contour of the neck and 
shoulders is exceedingly lovely, the bosom beautifully 
formed ; the limbs slender, but exquisitely moulded ; 
the feet and hands delicately small; their air and 
motions easy, graceful, and dignified. Nor are the 
beauties of the countenance inferior to those of the 
figure. The face is of the finest oval, like the Greek; 
the nose long and straight; the lips ruddy, and the 
upper one beautifully curved; the mouth rather 
small; the chin round, and, in most cases, dimpled, 
amoris digitulo. The eyes, shaded by long dark 
lashes, and surmounted by finely arched slender eye¬ 
brows, are full, black, humid, sparkling with fire, yet 
neither wanton nor petulant 41 . Their complexion, 
light olive or bronze, bespeaks their nearness to the 
sun, something of whose warmth and splendour 
seems to beam from their eyes and aspect. 

Some writers, drawing their inferences from par¬ 
ticular examples, or deceived by over hasty observa¬ 
tion, have represented the Hindoo women as dirty 
and slovenly; but no women can be more attentive, 
says Forbes, to cleanliness than the Hindoos. “ They 
take every method to render their persons delicate, 

41 Bory de Saint-Vincent, Essai Zoologique sur le Genre 
Humain, torn. i. p. 226, 228. 


376 


THE HINDOOS. 


soft, and attractive.. Their dress is peculiarly becom¬ 
ing ; consisting of a long piece of silk or cotton, tied 
round the waist, and hanging in a graceful manner 
to the feet, it is afterwards brought over the body in 
negligent folds; under this they cover the bosom 
v/ith a short waistcoat of satin, but wear no linen. 
Their long black hair is adorned with jewels and 
wreaths of flowers; their ears are bored in many 
places, and loaded with pearls ; a variety of gold 
chains, strings of pearl and precious stones fall from 
the neck over the bosom, and the arms are covered 
with bracelets from the wrist to the elbo-w; they have 
also gold and silver chains round the ancles, and 
abundance of rings on their fingers and toes ; among 
the former is frequently a small mirror. I think the 
richer the dress the less becoming it appears, and a 
Hindoo woman of distinction always seems to be 
overloaded with finery; while the village nymphs, 
with fewer ornaments, but in the same elegant 
drapery, are more captivating; although there are 
very few women, even of the lowest families, who 
have not some jewels at their marriage 42 .” 

The same writer, describing the village of Harasar, 
celebrated for the sanctity of its temple and the 
beauty of its women, observes that their jetty locks 
were adorned with jewels, while their garment, which 
consisted of a long single piece of silk or muslin, put 
on in graceful folds, fell like the drapery of a Grecian 
statue 43 . Various fashions prevail, however, in dif¬ 
ferent parts of India. In the kingdom of Attinga, 
on the Malabar coast, the women go uncovered 
from the waist upwards. It is thought indecent to 
do otherwise; and Grose tells a story, which was 
afterwards confirmed to Forbes upon the spot, of a 
Malabar woman, who, living with an English lady at 
Anjengo, to please her mistress, dressed in the Eu« 

42 Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. p. 74, 43 Ibid. p. 190, 191. 


DRESS, 


377 


ropean fashion, but appearing afterwards in the queen 
of Attinga’s presence with her breasts covered, the 
barbarous despot ordered them to be cut off, for what 
she was pleased to consider so signal a mark of dis¬ 
respect 44 . It is not the inferior classes merely who 
dress thus sparingly; the greatest princesses are 
clothed in the same style, and only differ from their 
slaves by wearing a more transparent muslin and a 
greater profusion of jewels. Even where persons 
are accustomed, as they are in several of the southern 
provinces of the Peninsula, to wear clothing on the 
upper part of the body, the rules of politeness require, 
even in women, that they shall uncover the shoulders 
and breast when addressing any person whom they 
respect, whether male or female 45 . It was the breach 
of this rule of good-breeding by the Malabar woman 
that roused the anger of the female despot of Attinga. 

The kind of tissue which, in the south, forms the 
sole garment of the Brahmini women, is only used 
in female dress. It is usually from eight to ten yards 
in length and about a yard broad, of every variety of 
quality and colour, with a border of different hue at 
each extremity. This is wrapped twice or three 
times round the body, and forms a kind of petticoat, 
which in front falls as low as the feet, but behind 
does not reach lower than the calf of the leg, and 
sometimes not so low. One end of this long web is 
fastened at the waist, the other, in many districts, 
passes over the head, shoulders, and breasts; but 
this is an innovation. The primitive fashion, through¬ 
out the Peninsula, required the woman always to 
appear naked to the girdle 46 . 

44 Grose, Voyage to the East Indies; Forbes, Oriental 
Memoirs, vol. i. p. 391. 

45 Dubois, Description of the Manners, &c. of the People of 
India, p. 211. 

48 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 220,221. “ Even the women 

2 K 3 


378 


THE HINDOOS 


In Malabar the dress of the women is quite similar 
to that of the men. “Their black, glossy hair, tied 
in a knot on the middle of the head, is copiously 
anointed with cocoa-nut oil, and perfumed with the 
essence of sandal, mogrees, and champahs; their 
ears, loaded with rings and heavy jewels, reach al¬ 
most to their shoulders; this is esteemed a beauty. 
Instead of a small gold wire in the orifice, as is prac¬ 
tised in other countries, the incision is filled with a 
filament from the cocoa-nut leaf, rolled round; the 
circles are increased until the orifice sometimes ex¬ 
ceeds two inches in diameter, the ear is then healed, 
and being stretched to the perfection of beauty, is 
filled with rings and massy ornaments. Round the 
waist they wear a loose piece of muslin, while the 
bosom is entirely exposed; this is the only drapery of 
the Malabar women : but they are adorned with a 
profusion of gold and silver chains for necklaces, 
mixed with strings of Venetian and other gold coins; 
they have also heavy bangles, or bracelets; a silver 
box, suspended by a chain on one side, forms a prin¬ 
cipal ornament, and contains the areca or betel nut, 
with its appendages of chunam, spice, and betel-leaf. 
Their skin is softened by aromatic oils, especially 
among the Nairs and Tetees, who are peculiarly 
attentive to cleanliness in their persons 4 V’ 

In Northern India, where the power and example 
of the Mohammedans have operated so many other 
changes in the manners of the Hindoos, even the 
national costume has undergone various modifica¬ 
tions. Here the dress of the women consists of a 
close jacket with sleeves, which, in some instances, 
reach no farther than the elbow, in others, cover even 
the tops of the finger?. This jacket, fitting tight to 

(native Hindoos) have no clothing above the waist.” Report 
from the Lords, July 8th, 1830, p. 119. 

47 Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. p. 390. 


DRESS. 


379 


the shape, and showing- to advantage the beaut) of 
the form, with women of rank is made of rich silk. 
“ Instead of drawers, some ladies,” says Abul Fazl, 
“ wear a lenghct, stitched on both sides, and fastened 
with a belt, which appears to be a short under-petti¬ 
coat; no chemise. Over the lengha is worn the 
common shalice, or petticoat. Some ladies wear 
veils and long- drawers 48 .” 

Mrs. Heber, describing some young Cingalese 
women, whom she saw at an English church in Cey¬ 
lon, observes, “Their dress in shape resembled that 
worn by the Portuguese Christians in Calcutta; but 
the petticoat and loose body were made of the finest 
muslin and silk, trimmed with lace, while their long, 
black hair was turned up a la Grecque , and fastened 
with gold ornaments.” The Malay girls, she ob¬ 
serves, wore long, flowing, white veils 49 . 

It may not, perhaps, be unentertaining to intro¬ 
duce here the description of the costume of a northern 
mountaineer, inhabiting those parts of the Himalaya 
where the manners of the Hindoos and Tatars appear 
to mingle and slide into each other. “An Uniya 
woman,” says Mr. Moorcroft, “ wife of one of the 
goatherds, very good-naturedly filled the water-ves¬ 
sels of those persons who came to the little well, and 
did not take up her own part till the different candi¬ 
dates for water received the quantity which they asked 
for. She had rather a pleasing countenance, was of 
middle stature, and about thirty-five years old. There 
was much of curiosity in her looks at seeing us, but 
nothing of fear or impertinence. Her dress was 
woollen, and of the same form with that of the men. 
Her boots were likewise wooHen, and much diversi¬ 
fied by patches of various hues. Her hair, which 
was of a deep black, was plaited in tresses from the 

48 Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 521. 

49 Narrative of* a Journey, &c. vol. iii. p. 161, 162. 


380 


THE HINDOOS, 


forehead down to below the waist, where the plaits, 
to the number of fifty, after each being terminated by 
a cowrie shell, were assembled in a band of leather, 
which was tipped with a tassel of red worsted thread. 
Her head-lappet, if I may so name it, was of leather, 
and extended from the forehead down the back to the 
waist, but in the latter Dart gradually ended in a point; 
at the forehead it was bordered with silver, and from 
this rim hung seven rows of coral beads, each row 
consisting of five, which were terminated by seven 
silver timashas , that played upon the forehead. The 
crown of the lappet was studded with small pearls, 
distributed in seven rows, and the lower part was 
decorated with green stones, something like tur¬ 
quoises, but marbled with coral beads, and many 
bands of silver and of a yellow metal, probably gold, 
about a finger’s breadth. A stiff band of leather, 
something like a soldier’s collar, was placed loosely 
round her neck, and ornamented with five rows of 
coral beads. The collar was secured with a button 
and clasp of silver. In her left ear was a coral bead 
set in silver, and in her right were two smaller beads 
in the same material. On her right thumb she wore 
a square gold ring, with characters engraved on the 
table 50 . 55 

In Rajast’han the costume varies in each province 
and tribe, though the materials of dress are everywhere 
the same; in summer cotton, in winter quilted 
chintz or broadcloth. The ladies have only three 
garments : “the ghagra, or petticoat; the kanchli, 
or corset; and the dopati , or ‘ scarf, 5 which is occa¬ 
sionally thrown over the head as a veil 51 .’ 5 Tattoo¬ 
ing, which may be regarded as a kind of substi¬ 
tute for dress, has not yet wholly disappeared in 
India The Hindoo women, in many parts of the 

80 Asiatic Researches, vol. xii. p. 422, 423. 

81 Colonel Tod, Annals of Rajast’han, vol. ii. p. 651. 


DRESS. 


381 


country, paint various figures, chiefly of flowers, on 
the arms, chin, and cheeks of their daughters. This 
is effected, as among the South Sea islanders, by 
making, with the point of a needle, slight punctures 
in the skin, over which the juice of certain plants is 
then poured ; and thus the figures become inefface¬ 
able 52 . Many Brahmini women die their whole bo¬ 
dies, or, at least, so much of them as is uncovered, 
with a saffron-coloured infusion, which, instead of 
increasing their beauty, renders them frightful, at 
least, in the eyes of Europeans. The young and 
beautiful attempt to increase the dark lustre of their 
eyes by the use of surmeh, or powder of antimony, 
that famous collyrium which played so conspicuous 
a part in the toilette of the Grecian ladies. To this 
practice numerous allusions are made in the Sacred 
Scriptures. Jezebel is said, in the book of Kings, 
to have painted her eyes with the powder of lead 
ore ; and the prophet Ezekiel, speaking of Jerusa¬ 
lem under the figure of a courtezan, accuses her of 
painting her eyes. We find, too, from the practice 
of Astyages, the Median king, in the Cyropaedia, 
that in Persia, as in India, even men addicted them¬ 
selves to this custom. Among numerous other curi¬ 
osities discovered in the catacombs of Sahara, in 
Egypt, our learned traveller, Dr. Shaw, saw the joint 
of a common reed, or donax , containing an ounce or 
more of the powder, and one of the bodkins with 
which the operation was performed. The mineral 
having been reduced to an impalpable powder, a 
small wooden bodkin, about the size of a quill, was 
dipped into it; then introduced under the eyelid, 
and passed over the eye. When the ladies happened 
to be a little too liberal in the quantity, the dusky 

58 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 221. They likewise, as all 
travellers have observed, dye their fingers, the palms of their 
hands, and the soles of their feet with henna. 


382 


THE HINDOOS. 


powder, mingling with the natural moisture of the 
eye, oozed out at the corners, and deformed the fair 
faces it was meant to beautify 53 . Such was the 
practice of antiquity, and such is still the practice of 
the ladies of Hindoostan; who, moreover, paint with 
black the border of the eye-lids, and prolong the 
eye-lashes and eye-brows at the corners. The hair, 
as has already been observed, is adorned with sweet- 
scented flowers, and ornaments of gold. 

The ornaments of the Hindoo women are rich and 
numerous. Every toe has its particular ring, so 
broad above as frequently to conceal the whole toe. 
Their bracelets are sometimes large hollow rings of 
gold, more than an inch in diameter, while others 
wear them flat, and more than two inches in breadth. 
Round their necks are suspended several chains of 
gold or silver, or strings of gold, pearl, coral, or glass 
beads. Many ladies have collars of gold, an inch 
broad, set with rubies, topazes, emeralds, carbuncles, 
or diamonds ; besides an ornament for the forehead 
set with jewels ; ear-rings, of which there are no less 
than eighteen species ; nose jewels; necklaces ; 
strings of flowers or pearls ; belts ornamented with 
little bells and jewels ; and numerous other orna¬ 
ments of the same costly kind 54 . 

The dress of the men, in which there are neither 
buttons, strings, nor pins, is admirably adapted to 
the climate, and produces, says Ward, a very graceful 
effect. It differs, however, but little, in many parts 
of the country, from that of the women. The head 
is always uncovered, unless in very hot or very cold 
weather, when they draw their upper garment over 

63 Shaw’s Travels in the Levant, p. 230 ; Dioscorid. iii. 99 ; 
Plin. xxxiii. 6 ; Athenaeus, 1. xiii. c. 3—6; Institutes of 
Menu, ch. ii. ver. 178, ch. iv. ver. 152; Dubois, Description, 
&c. p. 221. 

54 See Ayeen Akbery, vol. ii. p. 521, 522. 


ORNAMENTS. 


383 


it like a hood. The shoes worn by the rich are em¬ 
broidered with gold or silver thread, open at the 
heels, and curled up at the toes. Few persons wear 
stockings 55 . In the west of India, turbans are some¬ 
times worn even by the Brahmins, and very com¬ 
monly by all other persons of the superior classes. 
The head and beard are generally shaved, but mus- 
tachios are worn, and a small lock of hair is usually 
left upon the crown. A jama , or long gown of 
white calico, confined round the waist with a fringed 
or embroidered sash, replaces the simple robe of the 
eastern provinces; and the princes and nobles adorn 
their persons with necklaces of pearl and golden 
chains, sustaining clusters of costly gems ; while 
their turbans are crusted with diamonds, rubies, and 
emeralds. Their golden bracelets are likewise set 
thick with gems. The shoes are of red leather, or 
English broadcloth. In the ears they wear, like the 
women, large gold rings, which pass through two 
pearls or rubies. Both sexes are greatly addicted to 
the use of attar , and other perfumes. 56 

In Northern India another variety of costume is 
found. Here the garments of the men consist of 
“ trowsers of every shape and calibre, a tunic girded 
with a ceinture, and a scarf, form the wardrobe of 
every Rajpoot. The turban is the most important 
part of the dress, and is the unerring mark of the 
tribe ; the form and fashion are various, and its de¬ 
corations differ, according to time and circumstances. 
The bala-bund , or silken fillet, was once valued as 
the mark of the sovereign’s favour, and was tanta¬ 
mount to the courtly ‘ orders’ of Europe. The 
colour of the turban and tunic varies with the sea¬ 
sons ; and the changes are rung upon crimson, saf- 


55 Ward, View of the History, &c. of the Hindoos, vol. i. 
p. 186, 187. 

36 Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. p. 70, 71, 83. 


384 


THE HINDOOS. 


fron, and purple, though white is by far the most 
common. Their shoes are mere slippers, and sandals 
are worn by the common classes. Boots are yet used 
in hunting and war, made of chamois leather, of 
which material the warrior often has a doublet, being 
more commodious and less oppressive than armour. 
The dagger or poniard is inseparable from the gir¬ 
dle 57 .” 

The costume of the Zamorin, a prince who reigned 
on the Malabar coast when Vasco de Gama first 
arrived in India, was tasteful and elegant. “The 
Zamorin, who was, says the historian, of a brown 
complexion, lusty and advanced in years, lay reclined 
on a sofa covered with white silk wrought with gold, 
with a rich canopy over his head. He wore a short 
coat of fine calico, adorned with branches and roses 
of beaten gold. It was buttoned with large pearls, 
and the button-holes were of gold thread : about his 
waist was a piece of white calico, which reached to 
his knees. On his head was a mitre adorned with 
jewels ; in his ears were jewels of the same kind, and 
both his toes and fingers sparkled with diamond 
rings. His arms and legs were naked and adorned 
with gold bracelets; and in short his person was 
graceful and his air noble and majestic 58 .” 

Bishop Heber, giving an account of his visit to an 
opulent Hindoo, thus describes his reception, with 
the dress and appearance of his entertainer and his 
sons. “ He himself received us,” says he, “ at the head 
of a whole tribe of relations and descendants, on a 
handsome flight of steps, in a splendid shawl by way 
of mantle, with a large rosary of coral set in gold, 
and leaning on an ebony crutch with a gold head. 
Of his grandsons, four very pretty boys, two were 
dressed like English children of the same age, but 
57 Colonel Tod, vol. ii. p. 652. 

53 Knox’s Collection of Voyages, &c. vol. ii. p. 324. 


ORNAMENTS. 


385 


the round hat, jacket, and trowsers by no means suited 
their dusky skins so well as the splendid brocade 
caftans and turbans covered with diamonds, which 
the two elder wore 59 .” 

I have already described the paita , or thread of 
investiture, supposed to belong to the three superior 
castes, but worn indiscriminately by all. This, 
therefore, being no distinction, the Brahmins resort 
to other means of making known their rank. Those 
of the north of the Peninsula are distinguished by a 
perpendicular line, drawn with the paste of sandal¬ 
wood on the middle of the forehead ; in the farming 
districts this line is drawn horizontally, and the 
Vishnuite Brahmins, who are exceedingly numerous 
in all the south of India, imprint on their forehead 
three perpendicular lines, joined at the base, and 
thus representing the figure of a trident. Of these 
three lines the middle one is red or yellow, while 
those on the side are white, and being drawn with a 
kind of clay, called nama , this has grown by degrees 
to be considered the name of the figure itself. But 
even the nama is assumed by various castes of 
Sudras, who, in spite of the fancies of various 
writers, appear to do and wear what they please. 
The mark of the Sivaites is the Lingam, which they 
either wear stuck in the hair, or suspended to the 
arm, in a small golden or silver tube. It is also worn 
suspended by a ribbon from the neck, like the bulla 
of the Roman youth, which was frequently of the 
same form; or else it is enclosed in a silver box 
which hangs upon the bosom 60 . The Hindoos abhor 
pocket handkerchiefs, powder, and wigs, “ made 
up, says Dubois, “ of hair, shorn sometimes from a 
leprous skull, sometimes from that of a prostitute, or 

59 Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. iii. p. 235, 236. 

60 Dubois, Description, &c. p. 9, 48, 51, 57. Antiquitates 
Mid&letonian®. 

VOL. I. 2 L 


386 


THE HINDOOS. 


perhaps even of a putrid carcass!” Those shame¬ 
less Yogis, who, like certain Mohammedan saints, 
hold every kind of clothing in nearly the same 
estimation as wigs, wholly depart from the rules of 
their legislator, who positively commands that a 
Brahmin shall not even sleep naked 61 . 

The houses of the rich, in some parts of India, 
are built of brick, and, like a caravanserai, run 
round the four sides of a quadrangle. On the north, 
the sacred point of the Hindoos, stands the family 
chapel, which contains the household god. The 
other three sides are occupied by porticoes and 
apartments for the family. The windows of these 
apartments are by some writers described as mere 
air-holes, “through which the women may be seen 
peeping, as through the gratings of ajail.” During 
the great festivals, an awning is extended over the 
whole court, as is the fashion, according to Dr. Shaw, 
in Barbary, where the houses are erected on the 
same plan ; and here the common people are admitted, 
while those ot superior rank occupy the verandahs. 
The dwellings of the middling classes are constructed 
in the same style, but with different materials; the 
walls being of mud, the roofs of bamboo and thatch. 
A damp, wretched hut, containing but one room, is 
the usual dwelling of the poor in Bengal 62 . 

In the Mysore the poor would seem to be more 
comfortably lodged; for the mud with which they 
build their huts, a reddish ferruginous clay intermixed 
with small fragments of quartz, and other materials 
of decayed granite, forms a wall, which, with ordinary 
care, will resist the rains for many years. “ So good 
is it,” says Buchanan, ‘‘that in many towns and 
villages the houses have flat roofs terraced with this 

61 Institutes of Menu, ch. iv. ver. 75. 

82 Ward, View of the History, &c. vol. i.p. 192. 


DWELLINGS. 


387 


mud, which is laid on in the dry season, and turns 
the rain very well.” The buildings erected with 
this clay have a very tolerable appearance, the sur¬ 
face of the walls being neatly smoothed, and, like the 
houses of the ancient cities of Italy and France, 
painted with alternate vertical stripes of red and 
white. These huts are in the form of a parallelogram, 
without chimneys or windows. The rich, instead of 
enlarging the house, merely erect several huts in the 
same style 63 . In many cases the rooms are white¬ 
washed within, and the houses roofed with tiles. 
They are “ in general clean, and, had they any win¬ 
dows, would be comfortable.” In Malabar the huts 
“ called chera , are like bee-hives, and consist of a 
circular mud-wall, about three feet high, which is 
covered with a long conical roof of thatch. Contrary 
to what might have been expected in a hot climate, 
but agreeable to the custom of almost all Hindoos, 
one small door is the only outlet for smoke, and the 
only inlet for air and light. Each family has a hut 
for sleeping, another for cooking, and a third for a 
storehouse. Wealthy men add more huts to their 
premises; but seldom attempt at any innovation in 
the architecture of the country 64 .” 

The agrarums, or gramas , villages occupied by 
the Puttar Brahmins in Malabar, are remarkable for 
their taste. “The houses are built contiguous, in 
straight streets; and they are the neatest and clean¬ 
est villages that I have seen in India. The beauty, 
cleanliness, and elegant dress of the girls of the 
Brahmins add much to the look of these places. 
Their greatest defect is, that the houses are thatched 
with palm-ieaves, which never can be made to lie 
close, and which render them very liable to fires, 
that, when they happen, generally consume the whole 

63 Journey through the Mysore, &c. vol. i. p. 33, 38. 

64 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 192. 


388 


THE HINDOOS. 


gramas.” “ The houses of the Namburis, Nairs, and 
other wealthy persons, are much better than those 
usually met with in the villages of India. They are 
built of mud, so as generally to occupy two sides of 
a square area, that is a little raised, and kept smooth, 
clean, and free from grass. The mud is of an ex¬ 
cellent quality, and in general is neatly smoothed, 
and either whitewashed or painted. These higher 
ranks of the people of Malayala use very little 
clothing; but they are remarkably clean in their 
persons. Cutaneous disorders are never observed, 
except among the slaves and lowest orders ; and the 
Nair women are remarkably careful by repeated 
washings with various saponaceous plants, to keep 
their hair and skins free from every impurity, a 
thing very seldom sufficiently attended to among 
the natives of India 66 .” 

In other parts of Malabar the houses are two 
stories high, built with stone, and thatched with 
cocoa-nut leaves. Windows, also, though very di¬ 
minutive ones, are more common on this coast 
than in other parts of India 66 ; so that the Abbd 
Dubois is not quite correct iYi stating that the use 
of windows is unknown to the Hindoos 67 . The 
kitchen is always situated in the part of the house 
least accessible to strangers, whose very look, ac¬ 
cording to the prejudices of the natives, would pol¬ 
lute their earthen vessels, and compel them to break 
them. The position of the hearth is generally on 
the south-west side of the dwelling, because, in 
their opinion, the dwelling of the god of fire is in 
that quarter: a peculiar divinity presides over each 

65 Buchanan, Journey, vol. ii. p. 352, 353. 

66 lb. p. 420, 471, vol. iii. p. 99. 

67 Description, &c. p. 205. Ward, too, appears to entertain 
such an opinion. He describes their windows as mere air¬ 
holes. 


DWELLINGS. 


389 


of the eight points of the compass. It not being 
customary for men, unless they happen to be near 
relations, to visit the female part of the family, 
to avoid the necessity of introducing strangers into 
the apartments where they are usually occupied with 
household affairs, verandahs or alcoves are constructed 
both within and without the principal gate of entrance; 
in these the men assemble, and sitting-cross-legged 
on the floor, converse on business, religion, poli¬ 
tics, receive visitors, “ or pass their time in empty 
talk 68 .” 

Somerset House, the British Museum, the Louvre, 
and many other palaces and houses both in England 
and France, represent exactly, in point of form, the 
common dwellings of the wealthy Hindoos, whether 
they be erected of stone or of mud. Even in Raj- 
pootana the same style prevails. The mansions of 
the Rajpoots, Colonel Tod observes, are quadran¬ 
gular piles, with an open paved area, the suites of 
apartments carried round the sides, with latticed or 
open corridors extending parallel to each suite. The 
residence of the Rana of Oodipoor might not, per¬ 
haps, lose greatly by a comparison with Windsor 
Castle ; and is very much superior, both in taste and 
magnificence, to the Chateau of the Tuileries. “ The 
palace is a most imposing pile, of a regular form, 
built of granite and marble, rising at least a hundred 
feet-from the ground, and flanked with octagonal 
towers, crowned with cupolas. Although built at 
various periods, uniformity of design has been very 
well preserved ; nor is there in the east a more 
striking or more majestic spectacle. It stands on 
the very erest of a ridge running parallel to, but 
considerably elevated above the margin of the lake, 
The terrace, which is at the east end and chief front 
of the palace, extends throughout its length and is 
68 Dubois, ubi supra. 


2 l 3 


390 


THE HINDOOS. 


supported by a triple row of arches from the declivity 
of the ridge. The height of this arcaded wall is full 
fifty feet; and although all is hollow beneath, yet so 
admirably is it constructed, that an entire range of 
stables is built on the extreme verge of the terrace, 
on which the whole personal force of the Rana, 
elephants, horse and foot, are often assembled. From 
this terrace the city and the valley lie before the 
spectator, whose vision is bounded only by the hills 
shutting out the plains, while from the summit of the 
palace nothing obstructs its range over lake and 
mountain 69 .” 

In several districts of Rajpootana the houses are 
built with a red sand-stone, and, wood being scarce 
and dear, have likewise roofs of stone, which are 
supported by numerous slender pillars. The facade, 
in many instances, is coated with marble chunam ; 
and the whole surrounded by a flower-garden, in¬ 
tersected by neat stone channels, through which the 
water is conducted, for irrigation, from a tank. 
Bishop Heber, describing one of these gardens, ob¬ 
serves : “ some of the trees were of great size and 
beauty, and the whole place, though evidently unin¬ 
habited, was kept in substantial repair, and not the 
less beautiful in my eyes because the orange-trees 
had somewhat broken their bounds; the shade of the 
flowering plants assumed a ranker luxuriance, and 
the scarlet blossoms of the pomegranate trailed more 
widely across our path than was consistent with 
the rules of exact gardening. At the further end of 
the garden we found ourselves on the edge of a 
broad moat, with some little water still in it, sur¬ 
rounding an old stone-built castle with round towers 
and high ramparts of stone 70 .” 

Rajpoot villages are frequently situated on the 

69 Annals of Rajas’than, vol. i. p. 474, 475. 

7° Narrative of a Journey, &c. vol. ii. p. 372. 


DWELLINGS. 


391 


slopes of hills or rocky eminences, and surrounded 
by groves, or numerous scattered trees. Here, 
through the soft fleecy mists of the morning, large 
herds of deer may often be seen grazing; while the 
branches of the fruit-tree groves swarm with wild 
peacocks. In Marwar the construction of the vil¬ 
lages differs entirely from any thing elsewhere seen 
in India, and approaches, in physiognomy, the wig¬ 
wams of the western world. Each commune is sur¬ 
rounded by a circumvallation of thorns, which, with 
the stacks of chaff rising above it at intervals, has 
the appearance of a respectable fortification. These 
stacks of chaff, intended to supply the cattle with 
provender in scanty rainy seasons, are erected to the 
height of twenty or thirty feet, and are coated with a 
cement of earth and cow-dung, with a sprinkling of 
thorns, which are added to keep away the birds from 
roosting in them. If fresh coated occasionally, they 
will endure ten years, and when necessity requires 
them to be eaten the “ kine may be said to devour 
the village walls.” These villages, picturesquely 
scattered through the plain, break very agreeably 
the monotony of the desert. Near the banks of 
rivers the houses are sometimes thatched with bul¬ 
rushes, which grow to the height of ten feet 71 .” 

In the country above the Ghauts, the villages are 
fortified in a different style. Every collection of 
houses, however small, is defended by a round wall, 
or rather tower, of stone, sometimes forty feet in 
diameter, and six feet high. This is surmounted by 
a parapet of mud, in which there is a door that can 
be approached only by a ladder. Into this tower 
the inhabitants, on the appearance of a plundering 
party, retire with their families and most valuable 
effects; and having drawn up the ladder, defend 

71 Colonel Tod, Annals of Rajast’han, vol. i. p. 700, 773 ; 
Bishop Heber’s Narrative, vok ii. p-351, 357, 368, 3 72 , 374 . 


392 


THE HINDOOS. 


themselves by hurling down stones upon the assail¬ 
ants, in which they are vigorously aided by their 
women. More populous villages have square forts, 
flanked by round towers, which may, in some cases, 
deserve the name of a citadel. A circumvallation 
of mud is likewise thrown up around the villages. 
Thus only can they pass their lives in security. In 
many places the villages are defended, as in Ajmere, 
by hedges, which rise very high and thick, so as 
almost entirely to conceal the mud wall. These 
hedges greatly contribute to enliven the prospect, 
which is further adorned by the mangoes and other 
fruit-trees that usually grow around a village. To 
give notice of the approach of banditti, one or two 
men keep watch in a tower; and on the first alarm 
the villagers fly to arms, retire to their forts, and 
there defend themselves to the utmost. In times of 
famine, which are not unfrequent, the inhabitants of 
one village sometimes endeavour to prolong life by 
making incursions into the territories of their neigh¬ 
bours, chiefly during the darkness of the night. The 
expectation of nocturnal attacks, therefore, keeps up 
a perpetual state of alarm ; and every man lies down 
at night with feelings like those of the soldier en¬ 
camped in the vicinity of a hostile army. Such 
fortifications would be incapable of resisting the 
attacks of a regular battering train; but they enable 
the peasantry, women, and all, to stone with great 
intrepidity the irregular cavalry of the native princes 72 . 

In Guzerat, where the fear of war and robbery 
are not quite so present to the imaginations of the 
peasantry, the villages are open, and the inhabitants 
more at their ease. “ The villages in the Dhuboy 
pergunnah,” says Forbes, “ generally consist of 
thatched cottages, built of mud, and a few brick- 
houses with tiled roofs; a small dewal, a mosque, 

72 Buchanan, Journey, &c. vol. i. p. 32 37, 41,278, 400, 


DWELLINGS. 


393 


and sometimes a choultrie, are the only public build¬ 
ings. Near the large villages there is generally a 
tank or lake, where the rain is collected, for the use 
of the cattle in the dry season; when, for the space 
of eight months, not a single shower falls, and no 
water is to be met with except in these reservoirs : 
they are often inclosed with strong masonry, and 
their banks adorned by banian, mango, and tama¬ 
rind trees, to shade the weary traveller, and lessen 
evaporation. The tanks are constructed at the ex¬ 
pense of government, or by an assessment on the 
villages; they also contribute to the masonry of a 
good well and cistern for cattle, when the large re¬ 
servoirs fail. Sometimes these useful works are 
private acts of charity, from a rich individual, as 
instanced in the noble works of Govindsett, in the 
Concan. Large wells with a grand flight of steps 
down to the water are not uncommon in remote 
situations, where travellers, merchants, and caravans 
are obliged to pass, far from other supplies.’’ After 
expatiating on the value of these blessings in the 
torrid zone, he continues, — “ Hospitality to travel¬ 
lers prevails throughout Guzerat; a person of any 
consideration passing through the province is pre¬ 
sented, at the entrance of a village, with fruit, milk, 
butter, firewood, and earthen pots for cookery: the 
women and children offer him wreaths of flowers. 
Small bowers are constructed on convenient spots, at 
a distance from a well or lake, where a person is 
maintained, by the nearest- villages, to take care 
of the water-jars, and supply all travellers gratis. 
There are particular villages where the inhabitants 
compel all travellers to accept of one day’s provisions ; 
whether they be many or few, rich or poor, European 
or native, they must not refuse the offered bounty 73 .” 

The villages on the banks of the Ganges, though 
73 Forbes, Oriental Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 413—415. 


394 


THE HINDOOS. 


merely a collection of mud-walled, thatched cottages, 
covered, however, in many instances, with a creeping 
plant bearing a beautiful broad leaf, of the gourd 
species, being embosomed in groves of coco-palms, 
banyan, and other trees, have a highly picturesque 
and rural appearance. A little graceful temple, gene¬ 
rally of Siva, in a style almost Gothic, considerably 
increases the beauty of the scene. In one of these 
villages Bishop Heber, on his first sailing up the 
Ganges, observed the appearance of an Indian farm¬ 
yard and homestead: “ In front,’’ he says, “ was a 
small mud building, with a thatched verandah looking 
towards the village, and behind was a court filled 
with cocoa-nut husks, and a little rice straw ; in the 
centre of this was a round thatched building, raised 
on bamboos about a foot from the ground, which 
they said was a goliah, or granary; round it 
were small mud cottages, each to all appearance an 
apartment in the dwelling. In one corner was a 
little mill, something like a crab-mill, to be worked 
by a man, for separating the rice from the husk. 
By all which we could see through the open doors, 
the floor of the apartments was of clay, devoid of fur¬ 
niture and light, except what the door admitted 74 .” 

We borrow from the same traveller, the description 
of a native village in the north of Bengal. It is 
quite a picture, in the style of the Dutch artists, and 
contrasts agreeably with the sombre scenes which we 
have contemplated in the Mysore, and the country 
above the Ghauts. “ We arrived at Bogwangola 
between four and five, and stopped there for the 
night. I found the place very interesting, and even 
beautiful : a thorough Hindoo village without either 
Europeans or Musulmans, and a great part of the 
houses mere sheds or booths for the accommodation 
of the gomastas (agents or supercargoes), who come 
74 Narrative, &c. vol i. p. 18. 


DWELLINGS. 


395 


here to the great corn fairs, which are held, I believe, 
annually. They are scattered very prettily over a 
large green common, fenced off from the river by a 
high grassy mound, which , forms an excellent dry 
walk, bordered with mangoe-trees, bamboos, and 
the date-palms, as well as some fine banyans. The 
common was covered with children and cattle; a 
considerable number of boats were on the beach, dif¬ 
ferent musical instruments were strumming, thump¬ 
ing, squeeling, and rattling from some of the open 
sheds, and the whole place exhibited a cheerfulness, 
and, though it was not the time of the fair, an acti¬ 
vity and bustle which were extremely interesting and 
pleasing. The houses were most of them very small, 
but neat, with thin walls of mats, which, when new, 
always look well. One in particular, which was of 
a more solid construction than the rest, and built 
round a little court, had a slip of garden surrounding 
its exterior, filled with flowering shrubs, and inclosed 
by a very neat bamboo railing. Others were open 
all round, and here two parties of the fakir musi¬ 
cians, whose strains I had heard, were playing, while 
in a house near one of them were some females, 
whose gaudy dresses and forward manner seemed 
pretty clearly to mark their profession as the Nach 
girls of the place *V* 

We have elsewhere described the beautiful aspect of 
Benares, when viewed from the plain, on the opposite 
side of the river. It is, perhaps, of all Hindoo cities, 
not excepting Gaya, or the capital of Cutch, in every 
respect the most original in its features. Here, 
therefore, we may expect to find, if any where, the 
genuine Hindoo style of domestic architecture, in 
which, according to the Abbt£ Dubois, the use of 
windows is not recognised. Bishop Heber, who has 
assisted to destroy so many other prejudices respeet- 
75 Narrative, &c. vol. i. p. 239, 240. 


396 


THE HINDOOS. 


ing the people of India, has given, in his easy graphic 
style, an admirable description of the dwelling of an 
opulent citizen of Benares. It belonged, at the period 
of his visit, to two minors 76 . The house, he observes, 
“ was a striking building, and had the advantage, very 
unusual in Benares, of having a vacant area of some 
size before the door, which gave us an opportunity of 
seeing its architecture. It is very irregular, built 
round a small court, two sides of which are taken 
up by the dwelling-house, the others by offices. The 
house is four lofty stories high, with a tower over the 
gate, of one story more. The front has small windows 
of various forms, some of them projecting on brackets 
and beautifully carved, and a great part of the wall 
itself is covered with carved patterns of sprigs, leaves, 
and flowers, like an old-fashioned paper. The whole 
is of stone, but painted a deep red. The general effect 
is by no means unlike some of the palaces at Venice 
as represented in Canaletti’s views. We entered a 
gateway similar to that of a college, with a groined 
arch of beautifully rich carving, like that on the roof 
of Christ-church gateway, though much smaller. On 
each side is a deep richly carved recess, like a shrine, 
in which are idols with lamps before them, the house¬ 
hold gods of the family. The court is covered with 
plantains and rose trees, with a raised and ornamented 
well in its centre; on the left hand a narrow and 
steep flight of stone steps, the meanest part of the 
fabric, without balustrades, and looking like the 
approach to an English granary, led to the first story. 
At their foot we were received by the two young 
heirs, stout little fellows of thirteen and twelve, 
escorted by their uncle, an immensely fat Brahmin 
Pandit, who was the spiritual director of the family, 
and a little shrewd looking, smooth spoken, but vulgar 
and impudent man, who called himself their Moon- 
78 Narrative, &c. vol. i. p. 376—378. 


DWELLINGS. 


39/ 


shee. They led us up to the show-rooms, which are 
neither large nor numerous; they are, however, very 
beautifully carved, and the principal of them, which 
occupies the first floor of the gateway, and is a square 
with a gothic arcade round it, struck me as exceed¬ 
ingly comfortable. The centre, about fifteen feet 
square, is raised and covered with a carpet, serving 
as a divan. The arcade round is flagged, with a good 
deal of carving and ornament, and is so contrived 
that on a very short notice, four streams of water, 
one in the centre of each side, descend from the roof 
like a permanent shower-bath, and fall into stone 
basins sunk beneath the floor, and covered with a 
sort of open fret-work, also of stone. These rooms 
were hung with a good many English prints of the 
common paltry description which was fashionable 
twenty years ago, of Sterne and poor Maria, (the 
boys supposed this to be a doctor feeling a lady’s 
pulse,) the Sorrows of Werther, &c., together with a 
daub of the present Emperor of Delhi, and several 
portraits in oil of a much better kind, of the father 
of these boys, some of his powerful native friends 
and employers, and of a very beautiful woman of 
European complexion, but in an eastern dress, of 
whom the boys knew nothing, or would say nothing 
more than that the picture was painted for their 
father by Lall-jee of Patna. I did not indeed repeat 
the question, because I knew the reluctance with 
which all eastern nations speak of their women ; but 
it certainly had the appearance of a portrait, and as 
well as the old Baboo’s picture, would have been 
called a creditable painting in most gentlemen’s 
houses in England. 

Bishop Heber had, no doubt, often heard the 
pretended aversion of the Hindoos for every thing 
foreign advanced as a reason why no improvement 
in the arts and comforts of life can be expected to 

VOL. i. 2 M 


398 


THE HINDOOS. 


take place among them ; and in his correspondence 
he assiduously labours to destroy this fatal impres¬ 
sion. He observes, among other things, that they 
have long begun to adopt in Calcutta and elsewhere 
the European style of architecture. Many wealthy 
natives possess houses quite in the Grecian taste, 
“ There is,” he observes/ 4 an obvious and increasing 
disposition to imitate the English in every thing, 
which has already led to very remarkable changes, 
and will probably to still more important. The weal¬ 
thy natives now all affect to have their houses deco¬ 
rated with Corinthian pillars and filled with English 
furniture. They drive the best horses and the most 
dashing carriages in Calcutta. Many of them speak 
English fluently, and are tolerably read in English 
literature; and the children of one of our friends I 
saw one day dressed in jackets and trousers, with 
round hats, shoes, and stockings 77 .” 

The furniture of the Hindoo is exceedingly simple : 
their ordinary plates and dishes are formed from the 
leaf of the plantain-tree, or of the nymphaea lotus, 
that beautiful lily which abounds in every lake. These 
are neatly sown together with some grassy fibre ; 
but, however neatly fashioned, are never used a 
second time. Even in the houses of the Nairs, which 
are neater and better kept than ordinary, you find 
little beyond a few mats, earthen pots, grindstones, 
and utensils for cleaning the rice, with a swing for 
the amusement of the family. A few earthen pots, 
and two jars, the one for the water, the other for oil, 
comprise the whole stock of a villager. The cooking 
utensils are sometimes of brass or copper, as are 
likewise their drinking vessels, which are made with 
a spout, that they may pour out the water in a small 
stream, as in drinking it is thought indelicate to touch 
the vessel with their lips. Even in the superb dwel- 
77 Narrative, &c., vol. iii. p 252. 


DWELLINGS. 


399 


lings of the Rajpoot nobles, where the painted and 
gilded ceiling is supported by columns of serpentine, 
and the walls are lined with mirrors, marble, or 
china, no costly furniture, no hangings, no chairs, 
tables, beds, couches, or candelabra, are to be seen. 
The floors are covered with soft rich carpets, over 
which, to preserve their glowing freshness, a white 
cloth is spread; and here the Rajpoot sits and sleeps. 
However, we find that on the coast of Malabar a dif¬ 
ferent fashion sometimes prevails. The hall, in the 
Zamorin’s palace, into which Vasco de Gama and 
his companions were conducted on their first arrival, 
was set round with seats, rising one above another, 
like those of an amphitheatre ; the floor was covered 
with a rich carpet; the walls were hung with silk 
tapestry interwoven with gold ; and there were sofas 
for the prince and his guests. Neat little bedsteads 
of cane, manufactured by the hill tribes, are in use in 
many parts of India; as are likewise chairs and 
tab.es; but these are not common. 


END OF VOL. i. 


I 


♦ 
























C\. /*■ \ Cfc' r// gi* VJ ■— V y% 

"•- % * * 1 ' “ v S ^ s ' " • ' * % * 3 K 0 ’ $■ ' . 1 * 0 ~’ i - 

\%> jy ' 4 $$S'* -k S - 





>> ^ 
s> 



^ « <A> *>. 3 V/M^ * „A y 

-^imjfsf ^ o V <?* V> ^ . '••' .A * ,J ?^> * 

"*'V°.*'*,%' ,; * : VV-««,%'" ' • • < v 

0. ^ a^/y?9^ ^ ^ S* * ^e^Vv * ^ <J> G 

. ' irr//Z% *? a\ ^ ^ x vav^ - v 

'^O 0 X » 0jkvfc<k L " A V 1 ® 

1> ■** 


H -n 


v c^ 



° y0 ^ * & ++ 

*..,»—’ *> 9 ,.. s;^>\ .. ,% 

A* 1“ r <^J> * ^ 

g* « jA W/k A -A' * 

*• 

tS ^ -4 



N 

♦ r *& ' ’ ' ' S *" V 
<" o 

'. "oo' 



<\V </> > 


0 « \ 



&• <^ v 



0 « x 


* ^ 


* _c^N\ . ' ° 





















*<> 




V- A ,,, -r. '•'o', \ ■*' A 

-{I 


"o 


n? 0 ^ 





a 


/ s- rv*^ v A °° V**^'V P 

x ' s '* *> ^ v s s'"' 

" .-\ r si ^ *>■ *f> v <<• 

° \V * 

° ^ A “ 


", > 

* <i>U ' <*1v 

i, z ^ 

° ^ 

y o * x * A. O, * / s s <3 V ^ v 0 , 

jA x c 0 ' n c> .0 1 , * v B * <P. 

A # _c^ x O G v V /k>2_ -1 'P 

S v t^nf//y^2_ *> 








o 0 
^ A 


r>P Q-j i' < A-' cA - •»> 

v*o *■■'* *\ V s**r 

^ y C> V „ s_ y * > 

r fS Si * 'P ^ 



^ * 0 K 0 



A*. 

* ^ VJ » 

* 4 * 

* V v ^ ^ 

</ 0 s o o ■ 

* ■ S **^ > A 0^ _ 

<>* /\ r\ A>,<? J /I r- <^> v 

C V * rCV\M/% o V ^ 

° H/t \\y ju ,j ?p - %£j|J/ ° cp y ^<- o 

fe V \N * A v J .A * ^ 

<. '• 1 8 * <6 
* ^ 

4, +. * CTfeV o 

- ,V ^ ", ^ v 

•/ 



l*'°* '■'* A % .««-*, 

^ ->\ x c V c> 

^ J V> ^ -^Tsrv ^ O 

<S ^\\\W ^ . 

° ^ * *o 0 N 

<r 


0 O 


r A<- 



* A \ 




\' 1 ‘ «r C- V A 

<sr 




<^> 

% % v 


M~r r ' //J -‘- 



















- j . ‘ ’ i ; r, *, * . ' i . i 7 i 1 ■ < i 

■ . , i ! ‘ , < . ; V > 1 \ ‘ ‘ , 

>‘v; > j :> : u ,v .'v,> 

- v • 1 iH v ’ ‘ ■ v ! '". ' 

.* * % ' * ', ■ j. 4 ‘ . ' . ; . • 1 • • i f,: v ■ > • 

• rit! n : ■ . 

> ♦ v* , i f a ?. * f • Jf . *- > >. ■ |l , f \ 7 / a . * ‘ 

1 > • •,: v • \ ; , 1 \t , • v r > ,‘i ' i; . - 

■ 

' t f • i . • . 1 ' ’ \ ■ 

; ■; 

i - ' ' m>', 

!•••■'■ . . . , • \ y t * • * v *' »• f ; • ; 

' . J ! ' ’ , j 

I iHl ' ♦ . \ ■’ ; • •: 

•" : ! \ ' J ; - y l : ’ *{ > • 'v! , ’ > , V • ‘ • 

: : ■ ! • 

• us i i u ; ’h H U ir HHIn ■ ■ 

‘ { ' ' ‘ f * • , , 1 4 » :• . ' • 

■ - ; v'-i , ^ ‘ ^ ; • .« 

• {* • / . . : »’, ? , .. , •.) v ■ >•'<.• » ♦' 

1 . ■ , ■ ' ?ii,i ■ ■ * * i?j ■' n:u i ' .' 

\ x ‘ . ■' I ■ l • • 1 ■ ‘ ' > » 

[l ' y .. ' : ' ■ 1 • \ ‘ n 

, . ■! 

'vH KHr !| Hi 

• ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ • 1 . : i :• ■, - i > *'^r’ ■ ' * 

o ■ » it > • . , 1 . ' . . y • • 

■ 1 i >\ * 

■ ! • • y • f • ' ' . , 

f. * . , . * • * 4 !■ ‘ I. j ; f . *» 1 > • • f > » •* f. i . . 

• • ft ■ -4 1 , f ; . V ’• . 4 > ■. * ' * ‘ v • * ; 

... . . • ' • 

f 

« . § • .• ' . • & , , f v [ * . j j I » r < 

‘ • » . ? * t Jr *M • - ' J T ' I % ' I • * • • • r 

jfsHllUKUf/HUkU (Vi 1 : : t 

• * . : ■ ' \ ' t . 

.‘-.iU ?; ' » • * * • . . ; . . , > 

i > A i 1 * * • , / . J ■, ■■ 5 ^ * *. 9 9 11 * . • - e ♦ : I A f *. « 

; ♦ r 1 -i ' » • » . \ : \ > .• ; r ;! \ •' >♦•«*« f ’ <* • 

■' V\ •: {..m;,?,/; ■: 

■f i - ■-"> ! ’ : •, : , {' 1 . : ■ 1 :: ! ; 

1 •; , ' \ ’ 

,• ■ ! ; *“ '. : r ■ •, • . ’ • - 

. •• : ; * ; •- » : • ' « I • ' . • 

l ' • V * , • ’ ; ‘ ■' • * T c ' ‘ ! , , ■ ' ‘ ■ . . 

i .) /| ; tH; I't ‘ *‘*i* h 

■ ■ ’ • •' 


LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



0 019 628 875 2 


>. t t y 









